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English comedy films from the 1910s
The best 100 of 131
- 1
When the Clouds Roll By
Daniel Boone Brown is a pleasure-seeking playboy carousing around New York City without a care in the world -- that is, until he becomes the unwitting subject of a series of experiments at the hands of a sadistic psychiatrist.
- 2
A Trip to the Moon
Based on the Happy Hooligan comic strip, by Frederick Burr Opper. Happy speaks with someone in the park and takes a trip to the moon on a rocket that looks like the front half of a current racing car, where he is made king of the moon. A ballerina does a shimmy and Our Hero winds up back in the park being accosted by a cop. The inference is that he has fallen asleep and dreamed the entire trip.
- 3
Mickey
Mickey, an orphan who has been brought up in a mining settlement, is sent to New York to live with her aunt.
- 4
The Clown's Pup
Max Fleischer draws a clown, who comes alive on the page. The clown doesn't like the way he is drawn and demonstrates his own artistic abilities.
- 5
Over the Fence
Snitch steals Ginger's (stolen) baseball tickets and takes Ginger's girl to the game. Finding himself without tickets, Ginger dresses as a baseball player and wins the game. A possible debut of the "Glasses" or "Boy" character.
- 6
Johanna Enlists
A young girl, stifling on her father's backwoods farm, is reinvigorated by the arrival of an army regiment, come to train in the area.
- 7
A Little Hero
Mabel has a canary bird, a tiny pet dog and a cat. She goes out, and the cat goes after the canary. Doggie hears the racket and takes in the situation. Knowing he is no match for Tabbie he runs as fast as his little legs will carry him to a kennel where he tells his troubles to three big collies, who run back with him. They secure entrance to the house through a basement window, and arrive in time to save the bird's life. Tabby runs away, and an exciting chase follows. When Mabel comes home and sees the overturned bird cage and the canary's tall feathers palled out she thinks her little doggie has chased the cat away, and hugs her hero.
- 8
Tilly the Tomboy Visits the Poor
Funny how we think of the loutish behaviour of some of today's teens as a modern-day phenomenon. Here, in a short film more than one hundred years old, we see two tearaways terrorising a bed-ridden old lady, sabotaging a number of honest workmen as they go about their daily work, vandalising a bakery and taking a vehicle without consent - all in the space of six frenetic minutes.
- 9
How Men Propose
Three men in succession propose marriage to Grace Darling; she accepts all! Since they are roommates, the three discover their problem in short order; when they return for an explanation, they're in for a surprise.
- 10
Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus
Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse go to the circus and have some fun at the expense of a spectator.
- 11
How Bumptious Papered the Parlor
Mr. Bumptious insists on wallpapering the parlor himself, in order to save money.
- 12
Krazy Kat, Bugologist
Krazy Kat and Ignatz set out for the wilds on Krazy's bike; Krazy's promises to teach Ignatz about bugology. After crashing the bike into a tree, they come upon a bee (Krazy says it's sleeping, Ignatz says it's dead) and an elephant. Krazy works his magic on one of them, Ignatz on the other.
- 13
Shanghaied
A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie, a tramp in love with the owner's daughter, is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.
- 14
A Burlesque on Carmen
A gypsy seductress is sent to sway a goofy officer to allow a smuggling run.
- 15
A Busy Day
A jealous wife is chasing her unfaithful husband during a parade, after he starts to flirt with a pretty woman.
- 16
Jack's Joke
A comic sketch that features two players who think each one is deaf, causing them to shout. Part of the Edison Kinetophone Collection. The Kinetophone was a fairly complex mechanical means of creating talking pictures. Unlike previous systems, in which actors would be required to lip sync to preexisting recordings on camera, the Kinetophone was one of the earliest film technologies to record sound at the same time as the image.
- 17
Follow the Crowd
A clueless man finds a bomb on the street and keeps throwing it to the crowd around him. The sketch then moves with the clueless nerd getting involved in all sorts of troubles until he accidentally gets into a hideout from a terrorist group that will complicate things for him more than he ever hoped.
- 18
- 19
Dud Leaves Home
Dud's girlfriend Mamie wants an ice cream cone, but Dud is broke. He rushes home and steals a coin bank then chops it open with an ax, only to find that he's also split in half the one coin inside. Dud's mother sees this and spanks him...
- 20
An Even Break
Claire Curtis, Jimmie Strong and Mary have spent their childhood together in the country. Upon reaching adulthood, Claire goes to New York and becomes a success on stage. Jimmie, who has always dreamed of becoming an inventor, goes to New York to sell the machine he invented, and there he renews his acquaintance with Claire. Soon their old friendship ripens into love. Meanwhile, back in the country, Ralph and David Harding, who are making Jimmie's machine, plan to steal the right to it. Back in New York, Mary appears and informs Claire that she loves Jimmie, and the actress resolves to give her a chance to win him. When it appears that the Hardings' scheme to steal Jimmie's machine will succeed, however, Mary's ardor turns cold. Claire and Jimmie then rush back to the country in time to avert the takeover and save his firm from bankruptcy.
- 21
Keeping Up with the Joneses: Men’s Styles
A domestic comedy about the McGinis family—husband Aloysius, wife Clarice, daughter Julie, and housemaid Belladonna. The simple story lines often parody society's concern with material goods as an indicator of social standing, but the series was not as narrowly focused as the title implies. The Joneses were the McGinis's neighbors, but were not depicted. They were referred to as objects of envy, with whom the McGinis family was "trying to keep up." In this film, Pa McGinis decides to buy a new hat.
- 22
Prehistoric Poultry
A caveman falls victim to a prehistoric prankster, but he is avenged by his pet chicken.
- 23
Colonel Heeza Liar Foils the Enemy
Despite the bombs which he suffers from at the war front, war correspondent, Col. Heeza Liar succeeds to foil the enemy lines.
- 24
At Coney Island
Mack takes Mabel to Coney Island, only to have her stolen by slick Ford, who is temporarily out of sight of a watchful wife and children.
- 25
The Clown and His Donkey
A pioneering effort in bringing shadow puppetry to the cinema.
- 26
Betty Takes a Hand
Discovering that her father, Peter Marshall, had been defrauded by a business partner named James Bartlett, Betty goes to Los Angeles to visit her aunt, Mrs. Hamilton Haines, whose late husband had a hand in ruining Peter. Tom, Bartlett's son, has arranged a yachting trip for Mrs. Haines and her daughter Ida, and Ida, deciding that her cousin is too pretty to come along, persuades Betty to stay behind. Tom, on the way to the yacht after a quarrel with his father, passes the Haines mansion and, noticing a sign advertising room and board, stops. Meeting Betty who is posing as Miss Haines, Tom moves in and falls in love with his landlady. When Betty accidentally meets Tom's father, the old man is so captivated that he offers her $5,000 to marry his son. After Tom and Betty are married, when both fathers discover their in-laws' true identities they are first indignant but later are reconcile
- 27
Move On
Our hero is a police officer who gets involved in a crap game, flirting with a nurse and other amusements.
- 28
On the Jump
On the Jump is a 1918 American short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd.
- 29
Broadway Arizona
While on vacation in New York, millionaire cattle rancher John Keyes falls in love with musical comedy star Fritzi Carlyle. Recognizing the opportunity for a great story, Fritzi's press agent encourages her to accept the Westerner's proposal of marriage, only to deny it the next day in a wave of newspaper publicity. Disheartened, Keyes returns to Arizona and Fritzi continues performing until she suffers a nervous breakdown. Reading of Fritzi's misfortune, Keyes returns East, kidnaps Fritzi and takes her to Arizona. There, the change of climate performs wonders and she recovers quickly. Meanwhile, her stage manager sends detectives after her, and when they arrive in Arizona ready to arrest Keyes for kidnapping, Fritzi explains that the whole adventure was an elaborate publicity stunt and announces that she and her Arizona cowboy are going to be married.
- 30
A Peace of Coal
A British trick film with stop-motion animation by an unknown film maker.
- 31
Colonel Heeza Liar on the Jump
Colonel Heeza Liar is a character a bit like Baron Munchausen. Many wild things occur to him in the cartoons and they are meant to be silly entertainment. Here, he gets into a fight with a kangaroo. On the verge of death, he's saved by a quack doctor--who gives him a transfusion of donkey blood! And, as a result, there is a funny lingering after-effect.
- 32
Fatty's Day Off
Fatty's Day Off is a 1913 movie starring Roscoe Arbuckle and Charles Avery.
- 33
Bobby Bumps and the Detective Story
Pa buys a detective novel, but Bobby and Fido keep stealing it to read before he has a chance to.
- 34
A Smash-Up In China
"Smash-Up in China" is a very early animated film. The story consists of the Hooligan telling the little hooligans about his supposed adventures in China. He saves the life of the Prime Minister, meets the Emperor and nearly gets himself blown up!
- 35
When Tilly's Uncle Flirted
Tomboys play tricks on their uncle when he flirts with a maid.
- 36
Professor Bonehead Is Shipwrecked
Professor Bonehead gets shipwrecked, strands on a tropical island and meets cannibals.
- 37
Are We Down-Hearted?
Cecil Hepworth’s Vivaphone film features Hay Plumb singing George Robins’ optimistic 1906 ditty concerning the mischievous responses of a poor family to regular visits from the bailiffs.
- 38
The Speed Demon
An ambitious race driver who is not allowed to compete decides to outwit his competitors.
- 39
Skinny Gets a Goat
A courtship results in animals running away and being kidnapped by a tramp on a train. Don't worry, fat Skinny is coming to the rescue!
- 40
Bobby Bumps Helps Out a Book Agent
Bobby Bumps is up to his usual mischief, trying skates to his sleeping father's shoes and then tipping off a humble book agent to ring the doorbell.
- 41
Charlie's White Elephant
A cartoon based on Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp", with Chaplin himself supplying some gags.
- 42
Half & Half
Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran and their wives share a house. After a disagreement they decide to split the house by drawing a line down the middle
- 43
Farmer Al Falfa's Revenge
Sir Henry Bonehead is poaching Farmer Alfalfa's "game preserve", stunning animals with the scent of his pipe tobacco and shooting at what he imagines to be goats but which turn out to be Alfalfa himself. That's the standard of humor in this early Paul Terry cartoon for the Bray studio.
- 44
Bunny's Suicide
A tragicomedy in which the suicide attempt of the character Bunny is seen by a neighbour, who quickly calls for help.
- 45
Rigadin and the Magic Wand
Whiffles. the noted comedian, is married to a shrew, who proves more than his match in their many conflicts. A discolored eye is the last straw and Whiffles decides to tame his wife's aggressiveness. He buys the magic wand of Professor Jinks and marches bravely home. He arrives late for dinner and his wife aims a blow at him. He touches her with the magic wand, but, alas, with the wrong end, producing two wives instead of making one disappear. The wives combine forces, take the magic wand away and pound the unfortunate Whiffles until he apologizes.
- 46
- 47
Tontolini e l'asino
Jenkins goes to a public park where a procession is in progress. There, he takes a fancy to a donkey and determines to possess it. Cautiously mounting the beast, he rides away when the owner is not looking. Riding through the country, he meets a peddler with a quantity of toy balloons.
- 48
The Rollicking Rajah
Filmed using Vivaphone sound system. This was invented by Cecil M. Hepworth, and performers mimed to a 10" record. In this particular case, the singer and performer are not the same: Harry Buss is lip-syncing to singer Harry Fay (believed to be an alias of Stanley Kirkby).
- 49
Rigadin au téléphone
Charles Prince is anxious to meet with Andree Pascal, the pretty and charming woman who works at an office. He speaks with her on the phone, but she passes the call to plump Gabrielle Lange.
- 50
- 51
The Missing Link
Widow makes son pose as boy to appear younger to professor, but he is to wed professor's daughter.
- 52
The Awful Adventures of an Aviator
Amateur aviator Harold McNutt's hopes of taking flight result in an escalating series of high jinks.
- 53
Patouillard fait du Sandow
Paul Berthos' doctor tells him he needs to get some exercise, and hands him some of those rubbery strings with handles. We had them around the house when I was a kid, sold by Jack Lalane and other exercise gurus. You could pull them apart, or attach them to a wall and get your whole body involved. As you might expect, Bertho attaches them to things that he should not.
- 54
Le furberie di Robinet
Tweedledum wears his sister's new slit-skirt, and with a handsome wig and beautiful hat, causes a stir on the boulevard. His many admirers follow him around from place to place and even invade his parlor when he gets home. His sister puts them to rout with a stout broom and she and Tweedledum enjoy a hearty laugh over the joke.
- 55
Jobard, Porter for Love
Lucien Cazalis sees a young woman and falls instantly in love. He volunteers to carry her trunk to her apartment, where he kneels, grinning in front of her, until her father locks him in the trunk and throws it out the window.
- 56
Butalin troppo onesto
A man emerges from the bank with his wallet full. He drops it on the ground. A workman spots it and tries to give it back. Fearing he is about to be mugged, the first man flees, with the second pursuing.
- 57
Pruning the Movies
Colonel Bunk, after seeing his first movie, appoints himself “supreme censor of the movies” and he and his Board of Censors set to the task of “pruning” a movie (in more ways than one).
- 58
Calino s'endurcit la figure
There is one joke in this slapstick from Jean Durand's comedy unit at Gaumont: Calino wants to win a boxing match, and decides that he needs to toughen up one part of his body: no glass jaw for him! So he subjects his chin to various punishment, all of which he endures with no sign of discomfort.
- 59
Bobby Bumps in Their Master's Voice
Bobby Bumps and Fido call up their creator Earl Hurd on the telephone and get invited over for the day.
- 60
Patouillard crieur de journaux
Paul Berthos can use some money, so he gets a job as a news boy; you know, those kids who would stand about street corners in old movies, brandishing a newspaper, shouting "Wuxtry! Wuxtry!" and waiting for a car to run them over.
- 61
Robinet Pescatore
Nilde Baracchi sends Marcel Perez out fishing, armed .... I mean "equipped" with a long, sturdy bamboo fishing pole and a line and hook. However, what he catches is not fish in this funny late 'Robinet' short.
- 62
Mr. Smith, Barber
A short silent comedy in which Billy, who has lied to his wife so that he can go out on the town with a friend, gets caught by her.
- 63
Little Moritz épicier
Maurice Schwartz gets a job in a spice store. As low man on the totem pole, he does the deliveries, at which he is particularly inept. There's also a dog which attacks him and won't let go.
- 64
Tweedledum a Rich Man for Ten Minutes
Marcel Perez is so poor he can't even tip the janitor for some service or other. However, a messenger arrives with a telegram from a notary. An uncle is dead and has left Marcel a hundred thousand francs! With a huzzah and skips and falls and smashing of his old junk, Marcel is off to equip himself in the latest and most expensive fashion, waving the telegram like Mark Twain's Million-Pound Note to gain the instant obsequiousness of tailors, haberdasher and hatters. But wait, why is that messenger following on Marcel's trail? Could it be another telegram? What could it possibly say?
- 65
L'omelette de Polycarpe
Charles Servaes playing Polycarpe is cooking some eggs in his residential hotel. What do you need when you want to cook eggs?A clean chimney that won't kill you. So he takes a chimney brish up to the roof and gets to work. This does not please the other residents, when he pushes soot down their chimney into their rooms!
- 66
Cocciutelli affissatore
Monthus gets a job as a billposter, but every time he tries to put one up, some one stops him. A bicyclist runs into him, or a cop chases him off, or some other disaster, usually causing him to take a prat fall.
- 67
The Classmate's Frolic
A comedy about a group of school girls who bring a street musician to school with them.
- 68
Una Dichiarazione Impossibile di Robinet
Marcel Perez meets Nilde Baracchi at a party and falls instantly in love. How much comedy short subjects have contributed to the 'falling in love at first sight' trope might make an interesting paper. Anyway, he falls in love, but things go wrong at the party, then again when he waits outside her apartment -- today we would say he was stalking her. Back then it was considered cute, particularly given the indignities of Italian slapstick -- and when he finally meets her again on a train.
- 69
Onésime et son collègue
Batty Bill has some bachelor apartments. He also has a friend, who has fallen in love. These lovers adjourn to Batty Bill's apartments, where unfortunately for Batty Bill, they are traced by the wrathful father, who spites his wrath on the furniture and contents. While doing this, he is discovered by Batty Bill, who, in his humble endeavors to stop the damage, becomes himself the object of the father's fury and is chased through all sorts of ridiculous mix-ups, from roof to roof and through shops alike.
- 70
Patouillard paie ses dettes
Bill is dead broke, and his hard-hearted creditors gather round like carrion crows. In vain he tries his wily arts and blandishments upon them. It is quite evident that he will either have to go to America and there get married or go to work. Bill sallies forth in search of employment or a rich widow, not particularly which in his despair, and chances upon a stray bear. Bruin decides to go into partnership with William and they soon scare away all the creditors. The way Bruin handles the creditors causes much wholesome fun and cannot fail to appeal to young and old.
- 71
Gavroche vend des parapluies
Gavroche tries to become an umbrella salesman. He follows a man to his house in attempt to sell his first umbrella. However, the umbrella is too wide to fit through the doorway. Instead, he devises a plan to reach the man's balcony above. Setting some rags on fire, he uses the hot air produced to make his umbrella fly. Gavroche crashes through a window, and into the room where the man and his wife are talking, Finally, he make his last attempt at selling the umbrella.
- 72
Her Birthday Present
Two thieves burgle a necklace from a policeman, but then begin to quarrel between themselves, leading to a shootout.
- 73
- 74
Fricot impara un mestiere
Ernesto Vaser gets a job as a shop assistant in a draper's, where every bolt of fabric must be examined before the lady chooses the first one she looked at. Vaser's erratic and weird course of actions indicate he is the only employee in the store, so he has to do everything himself, including serenading the clientele.
- 75
Max manque un riche mariage
Max is about to make his first call upon a young lady, the daughter of distinguished parents, and he wants to make a good impression. As he dresses to go out he stoops over to fix his shoe and, horrors! He tears his trousers. Where? Well, in a most embarrassing place. He fixes them hurriedly, trusting to have his coat tails cover it, but alas, the coat is too short for this purpose. Nevertheless, he takes a chance and, arriving at the house has the butler make a close inspection. He seems to be all right and enters, but when he bows to his hostess he hears the sickening sound of tearing cloth and knows that his patch has given way. Max hastily seats himself and during the rest of the evening performs the most astounding feats to hide his terrible secret.
- 76
Rigadin nègre malgré lui
Rigadin and a friend ae motoring. The car breaks down, and Prince goes in search of some place to say. Meanwhile, his friend is attacked and tied up by a man in blackface. Later, he breaks into Prince's room and blacks him up, then removes his disguise, leaving Prince to bear the brunt of the law.
- 77
Tramp Strategy
A woman plans to dress her fiancé as a heroic tramp in order to impress her father, but a real tramp intervenes in his place.
- 78
He Ruins His Family's Reputation
And now our funny little friend, Snookums, has started real trouble for his poor Dada. A few of the neighbors and Dada were having a nice quiet little game when the door-bell rang and when Snookums' beautiful mother went to the door, she found the minister.
- 79
Absorbing Reading
A little man buys a paper and begins to read it as he walks down the street. It is so absorbing -- as the title indicates -- that he doesn't notice anything else. He knocks down streetlights and walks into women who stab him with enormous hatpins, yet goes on reading.
- 80
Le bazar mystérieux
A girl playing in the park has her doll broken by some mean boys. An elderly man drives them off. She cries and naps, dreaming of 'Le Bazar Electrique' where the dolls and plush toys come alive.
- 81
Léontine est incorrigible
Leontine goes to the park with her nurse and runs away. She torments a greengrocer, then sneaks into a tent show and makes mischief there in this typically amusing short subject about the brat.
- 82
Boireau, roi de la boxe
At a prize fight, Deed gets into a fight of his own with two other spectators and gets thrown out. He goes to a boxing instructor, and after one lesson, he sets out for revenge.
- 83
Patouillard a mangé du homard
Despite the severity of his weekly adventures recently, little Bill is here to cheer us once more with his frolicsome escapades. We see him seated tete-a-tete with a very pretty girl, indulging in the luxury of a particularly magnificent lobster for dinner. It is, of course, quite inconceivable that Bill should do anything without its having some astonishing consequence, and the effect of the succulent crustacean is in nowise disappointing. Immediately he finishes his repast, Bill is seized with most alarming spasms, and then, apparently taking on the habits of the shellfish he devoured, commences to walk backwards out of the room. Tripping up at the top of the stairs, he falls down headforemost and then leaps backward into the street, where he seeks refuge in a waiting carriage.
- 84
Mr. Toots' Tooth
A short silent film in which Mr. Toots miraculously loses his tooth. Mister Toots tries everything to cure his toothache. He eventually succeeds with a string and a book. Furious with the staff, he throws the book towards them, and is then freed of his sore tooth.
- 85
Lessons in Courtship
A farce in which Dick Edna wants to learn the art of seduction, and takes lessons for this from the brother of his beloved.
- 86
Ambrose's Little Hatchet
Mack Swain is making a dress for Louise Fazenda. He discovers his dressmaker's dummy requires his adjustment, so he pulls out his hatchet for the job. Through the window shade, onlookers -- including her husband -- see him as killing a woman.
- 87
Peeping Pete
This early Keystone has Pete spying on his neighbor's wife through one of those little knotholes in a fence. The neighbor (Sterling) notices and chases him all over town with sheriff and family close behind. Fatty Arbuckle plays the peeper's wife(!).
- 88
Patouillard ordonnance par amour
Paul Bertho sees a beautiful woman entering a carriage and is struck dumb with love -- which, considering this is a silent movie, is no impediment. Her husband, however, is definitely an obstacle in this split-reel Patouillard comedy.
- 89
Onésime et la grève des mineurs
Ernest Bourbon, with his idiotic smile perpetually plastered on his face, invites the miners into his apartment, which they accidentally destroy. Miners, as we know, always carry their shovels and pickaxes with them, and never wash.
- 90
Little Moritz, soldat d'Afrique
Maurice Schwartz is a soldier somewhere in Africa in front of a painted backdrop. Assigned to guard duty while his mess mates march off, he is frightened by various wild animals. His fellow soldiers make fun of him, until they encounter wild beasts.
- 91
Bébé veut imiter Saint-Martin
Bébé's nanny reads to him the exploits of Saint Martin, who gave half of his coat to a poor man at the gates of the city of Amiens, so that he could protect himself from the cold. Bébé, marveled by this story, then plays in the park and meets a poor man and his son who are both freezing. Bébé decides to imitate Saint Martin, removes his coat and tears it in two pieces. He gives one piece to the poor boy. Bébé returns to his nanny and tells her his good action. She explains that half a coat is not very useful. Bébé understanding his stupidity starts crying. The nanny takes him by the hand to see the two poor. She mends the coat with safety pins. The poor boy now has a whole coat. After the departure of Bébé and his nanny, the poor boy can now play the lord with his beautiful coat.
- 92
Onésime est trop timide
Ernest Bourbon is introduced to a young lady, object matrimony. Unfortunately for him, he slips the ring on the other girl.
- 93
Little Moritz fait une course pressée
Maurice Schwartz is the doorman at a restaurant. An elegant customer has him deliver a letter to a young lady, asking her to join him, and promises Schwartz a large tip. Schwartz not only delivers the note. He insists on delivering the lady through a serious of slapstick mishaps.
- 94
Jobard, garçon de recettes
Lucien Cazalis is very excited to be working for a bank. His first assignment is to go to a town and collect a debt. When he arrives, his eccentric choice of hats makes the locals think he is a dignitary they have been expecting.
- 95
Zigoto gardien de grand magasin
Lucien Bataille is hired as security for the department store, and proceeds to wreck much of it to keep anyone from from stealing anything.
- 96
Le fils du pêcheur
To the distress of his mother, the fisherman's son is a drunk. But when his father's boat capsizes, he has a chance to prove his worth.
- 97
Onésime et son âne
Ernest Bourbon discovers that a shower of gold coins fall from his donkey's hindquarters -- I've phrased that as politely as I can. Now rich, he moves to the city, dresses well and hires servants. Unlike the one about the goose that lays the golden eggs, he treats his benefactor well, even though the donkey doesn't seem to enjoy the process.
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