The Best Movies From 1900-1919

An old proprietor is startled by the sudden appearance of a skull. Just as he draws back from the uncanny object, the doors of a mediaeval wardrobe fly back and a hand prods him with a sword. He turns to confront his assailant when it vanishes, and at the same instant the skull flies to the other end of the room. He clutches at the skull, when it turns into the half form of a girl from the waist up, suspended in mid-air. As he gazes in amusement, the other half of the girl, fully dressed from her waist down, walks across the room, and the two halves of the figure join, making a girl complete. In an amorous fashion the old man folds his arms around the girl's waist with the intention of stealing a kiss, but the girl immediately changes into an old woman, who grins in evident delight at the old man's discomfort. In great anger he throws her into the wardrobe and locks the door. Unseen by him, the woman has again become a girl. A great effect is here produced. Through the doors, which are solid and closed, the form of the girl appears through the woodwork. Hastily opening the door, the old man is then confronted by an Egyptian mummy. Other strange things happen. As the pawnbroker flies from the room a large and grotesque head arises from the smoke and slowly advances toward the spectators. Larger and larger the head grows until it fills the entire picture, and appears as though it would swallow the whole audience. A most laughable and mystifying scene.

A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.

Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput, the inhabitants of which are no more than six inches tall. He later travels to Brobdingnag, a country populated by giants.

A group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.

Robinson Crusoe and Friday fight with hostile natives, and eventually retire to their jungle cottage to relax.

In this spectacular free adaptation of the popular theatre play "La Biche au Bois", the valiant Prince Bel-Azor pursues a baleful old witch to her impregnable castle, to save the beautiful young Princess Azurine.

Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.

A poor but honest young man wins the hand of a beautiful Princess after facing a series of exciting adventures involving apparitions, cartwheeling skeletons, a dragon, and plump dancing girls from the Folies Bergere.

Pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies tells his version of the famous Washington Irving story of a man who takes a nap and wakes up 20 years later.

Two travelers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through the heavens courtesy of the Devil.

A penniless troubadour consults the Fairy Carabosse about his future but offends her by paying with a bag of sand.

Three friends go on a trip and decided to rest at an abandoned house. Everything seems pretty normal until really weird things start to happen.

In a medieval palace, an astronomer with a telescope shows the king.

The story, while not biographical, is founded on incidents in his life, showing his devotion for his sick wife, Virginia. Desperate from his utter helplessness to ameliorate his dying wife's suffering, owing to extreme destitution, he is in a frenzy of grief, when a raven is seen to perch on a bust of Pallas above the door of their cold, cheerless apartment. An inspiration! He sets to work, and that masterpiece. "The Raven," is the fruit. During his work he has divested himself of his coat, putting it over his wife to protect her from the cold. The poem finished, he rushes coatless and hatless to the publisher, where he meets with scant attention. One editor, however, thinks the work possesses some merit and offers ten dollars for it. Ten dollars for the greatest jewel in the diadem of fame - think of it! Poe thinks of the comforts, meager though they needs must be, for his poor wife and accepts the offer. Hastening to the store, he procures food, a heavy comfortable for the cot, and medicine, and with much lighter heart returns home. Spreading the quilt tenderly over Virginia, he takes her hand and gazes fondly into her sightless eyes, but the cold, unresponsive hand tells him the awful truth. "My God, she is dead!" and he falls prostrate across the cot.

The first filmed version of Frankenstein. The young doctor discovers the secret of life, which he uses to create a perfect human. Things do not go according to plan.

A scientist discovers reverse gravity and goes to Mars in the process.

1911 silent film and Italy's first full-length feature film, loosely adapted from "Inferno", the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy". It chronicles Dante's travel through the Circles of Hell, guided by the poet Virgil.

Aboard the futuristic flying machine of his own invention, Professor Mabouloff and his team of intercultural explorers set off on yet another impossible expedition to North Pole's vast landscapes. What wonders await the bold adventurers?

A man tells his grandchildren about prehistoric man. Weakhands is unable to court a woman because of his physical weakness. Humiliated by Bruteforce, he bumps into Lillywhite, who has also been cowering since her mother died. But when they venture out in search of breakfast, Bruteforce separates the couple and sends Weakhands scrambling into a cave. There, he hits upon the design for a club: A rock on the end of a stick. With this equalizer, he soon vanquishes Bruteforce and wins Lillywhite back again.

The poor student Balduin sells his mirror image to the satanic sorcerer Scapinelli. He falls in love with a countess and tries to win her over. But his mirror image receives a life of its' own and sabotages Balduin's every move.

The young daughter of an army captain missing in action runs away from school and is kidnapped by Parisian lowlifes. When the kidnapper flees to Nice with the child, the kind-hearted employee of one of his accomplices sets off in pursuit.

An epic Italian film, "Quo Vadis" influenced many of the later movies.

After Dr. Friedrich's wife becomes mentally unstable and his research papers are rejected, he leaves the country to respite.

Two love triangles intersect in ancient Pompei.

Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.