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Documentary films from the 1900s
The best 100 of 240
- 1
The Flying Train
The Flying Train depicts a ride on a suspended railway. The footage is almost as impressive as the feat of engineering it captures. For many years our curators believed our Mutoscope rolls were slightly shrunken 70mm film, but they were actually shot on Biograph’s proprietary 68mm stock. Formats like Biograph’s 68mm and Fox’s 70mm Grandeur are of particular interest to researchers visiting the Film Study Center because the large image area affords stunning visual clarity and quality, especially compared to the more standard 35mm or 16mm stocks.
- 2
Panorama of the Paris Exposition, from the Seine
This panoramic scene is taken from a Seine steamboat and gives a rapid view of the banks of the river...
- 3
A Visit to the Seaside
The first successful motion picture in natural color, filmed with Kinemacolor. It is an 8 minute short film directed by George Albert Smith of Brighton, showing people doing everyday activities. It is ranked of high historical importance. Kinemacolor later influenced and replaced by Technicolor, which was used from 1916 to 1952.
- 4
Messrs Lumb and Co Leaving the Works, Huddersfield
Yet another factory gate exit film from Mitchell and Kenyon.
- 5
Tram Ride Into Halifax
A breathtaking winter journey in the Pennines, from country to town and back again via electric tram.
- 6
Living Wigan
A lively crowd surround the camera filming a tram leaving Wigan Market Place.
- 7
Morecambe Church Lads' Brigade at Drill
Larking about during Church Lads' Brigade drill and parade in Morecambe.
- 8
Whitsuntide Fair at Preston
All the fun of the Whitsuntide Fair in Edwardian Preston.
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Electric Tram Rides from Forster Square, Bradford
An epic tour of the places and people of Edwardian Bradford.
- 12
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Sheffield United v Bury
Sparkling images of fans and players at an Edwardian fixture at Sheffield's Bramall Lane.
- 14
Audley Range School, Blackburn
Lancashire children perform physical education exercises in (almost) perfect unison.
- 15
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University Procession on Degree Day, Birmingham
Female graduates and gents sporting spectacular Edwardian whiskers take part in Birmingham’s first Degree Day ceremony.
- 17
Alfred Butterworth and Sons, Glebe Mills, Hollinwood
A flood of Lancashire cotton workers and their children at the end of another shift.
- 18
Manchester Street Scene
A rare glimpse of early Edwardian Manchester when the horse-drawn tram still reigned supreme.
- 19
Burnley v Manchester United
Believed to be the first film that features Manchester United in their first season as 'Manchester United', rather than 'Newton Heath' as they were known at the time.
- 20
Manchester Band of Hope Procession
A temperance society decries the demon drink on the streets of Edwardian Manchester.
- 21
Tapping a Furnace
A large bucket is lowered into a pit by male workers using machinery. Molten material from a furnace is poured into the bucket using a slide. The bucket, which has flames coming from inside, is lifted up from the pit by a crane.
- 22
Panorama Exterior Westinghouse Works
The view from a moving train shows some of the Westinghouse interests and the surrounding areas.
- 23
The Icelandic Althing Visits Copenhagen
Long winded film runs just over six-minutes but we're pretty much shown Iceland's Parliament as they board a ship and are given a reception by the Danish crown.
- 24
Parkgate Iron and Steel Co., Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
- 25
Welding the Big Ring
A group of men weld one area of a large ring in a fire. They lift the ring, which is hanging horizontally on chains, out of the fire. Four men hammer the hot area on the ring into shape while the remaining men hold the ring. They put the ring into the fire again, take it out, and take it over to a machine which continuously hammers down on that area of the ring. The men then take it away from the machine and hammer it themselves into shape. The ring is presumably a piece of a generator.
- 26
A Day in the Hayfields
Documentary on the process of hay-making, from the cutting of the grass to the stacking of the hay.
- 27
Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery
A group of miners (including a sole black worker) exits the colliery gates.
- 28
Westinghouse Air Brake Co. (Moulding Scene)
Men working in teams carry buckets of molten material and pour the material into what appear to be molds lined up on the ground.
- 29
Casting a Guide Box
A large bucket full of molten material is poured into a large container, possibly a mold, by a group of men using machinery. Some other men stoke the fire under the container. When finished pouring, the men lift the bucket up from the container and take it away on a crane. Two men put prods down repeatedly into the container, while others lay covers on top of it.
- 30
Westinghouse Works
Billy Bitzer filmed 21 short actualities inside the Pittsburgh Westinghouse Works in April and May of 1904. Audiences of the day would have been treated to footage of factory panoramas, women winding armatures and turbines being assembled. These industrial films were produced for the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company.
- 31
Panoramic View of the Morecambe Sea Front
One long traveling shot through a sea front lined with tourists, workers, and sundry others.
- 32
Danse Serpentine (In a Lion's Cage)
Madame Ondine performs a serpentine dance surrounded by big cats.
- 33
Dranem Performs The True Jiu-Jitsu
Armand Dranem performs The True Jiu-Jitsu ("Le Vrai Jiu-Jitsu", by P. Briollet & G. Fabri / C. D'Orviet) in this phonoscene by Alice Guy. This early form of music video was created using a chronophone recording of Dranem, who was then filmed "lip singing". Guy would film phonoscenes of all three major Belle Époque celebrities in France: Polin, Félix Mayol, and Dranem.
- 34
Flight of the Large Blue Fly
Chronophotographic short film, possibly species Protophormia terraenovae, c. 1904-1905.
- 35
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President McKinley and Escort Going to the Capitol
Cavalry and foot-soldiers escort President McKinley.
- 37
A Trip Through Paris, France in The 1890s
Footage from the dawn of film taken in Belle Époque-era Paris, France from 1896-1900.
- 38
Laborers in Victorian England
Footage from the dawn of film taken by Mitchell and Kenyon in North England, 1901.
- 39
Newcastle United v Liverpool
An Edwardian football match at Newcastle's St James' Park ground.
- 40
Rotherham Town v Thornhill
A ropey pitch and worse goalkeeping in a typical non-league football derby in Edwardian Yorkshire.
- 41
A Native Street in India
Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.
- 42
Delhi, Great Capital of India
Rare stencil-coloured images of early 20th century Delhi during a Muslim festival.
- 43
Old London Street Scenes
London street scenes, showing varieties of horse-drawn traffic. Views of Parliament Square, Charing Cross, Pall Mall, the Royal Exchange and others.
- 44
Stockholm
Registration of the city of Stockholm and its surroundings. Shots from a tram of various cityscapes: a park, brass band, shopping street, market, canals and boats.
- 45
King Edward's Arrival at Helsingor
Film produced by William K. Dickson’s British Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
- 46
Nankin Road, Shanghai
This is an extraordinary window on to the heart of cosmopolitan Shanghai, over a hundred years ago, featuring a Nanjing Road bustling with crowds of Chinese, Sikhs and Europeans. It is the only known surviving example of the film reportage shot by British war correspondent Joe Rosenthal during his coverage of the Boxer Rebellion in China between 1900 and 1901.
- 47
The Olympic Games London
Precious footage of the 1908 Olympics shows the main venue, White City Stadium, with brief glimpses of pole vaulting, gymnastics, high jump, swimming, throwing the discus, tug of war and women’s archery.
- 48
Panorama of Rio de Janeiro
Various views of the Palm Tree’s Ally, the Corcovado funicular and the high tide in Rio de Janeiro before Christ the Redeemer came to dominate the scene.
- 49
Salford v Batley
Batley go down to Lancashire rivals Salford in the very first season of the Northern Rugby League.
- 50
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Everton v Liverpool
The earliest surviving Merseyside derby on film catches two of Everton's goals in a 3-1 home win.
- 52
Rochdale Tram Ride
Splendid views of Edwardian Rochdale from the front of a tram after a recent dusting of snow.
- 53
The World's First Caterpillar Track
A demonstration by the R. Hornsby engineering company of Grantham of a revolutionary all-terrain vehicle.
- 54
President McKinley Inauguration Footage
Original President McKinley Inauguration Footage from 1901.
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A Visit to Stockholm
Travelogue taking viewers on a tour of Stockholm in 1908. The film begins with a panoramic view from the Belvedere, then shows the busy harbor, wharves, and rail yard with a jack-knife bridge in operation. It concludes with a tram-top ride through the city’s main business streets, capturing the bustle of modern urban life. Issued in Sweden under the title Ett besök i Stockholm, it is distinct from the newsreel footage of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s state visit.
- 57
Edward VII's Coronation
Film of Edward VII's coronation. Appears on the BFI DVD "A Royal Occasion".
- 58
Tram Rides through Nottingham
This fascinating record of Edwardian Nottingham was filmed from the driver's platform of a tram on a single journey through the city centre between its two main stations. The sequence follows the same route as today's Nottingham Express Transit tramway, taking the viewer along Listergate and Wheelergate into Old Market Square before turning right into Long Row and on into Queen Street.
- 59
- 60
Blackpool North Pier
Edwardian holidaymakers throng to the attractions at Lancashire's premier seaside resort.
- 61
Bradford City v Gainsborough Trinity
Bradford City's first ever home league game after switching from rugby league football to association football in 1903.
- 62
Cunard Vessel at Liverpool
Evocative film of the passengers and crew of a ship docked at Liverpool.
- 63
Petticoat Lane
Join the Sunday morning crowds at the famous East End market, home of London's rag trade.
- 64
State Entry into Delhi of Lord Curzon, the Viceroy
Film showing the Viceregal party entering Delhi on lavishly decorated elephants, as part of the Coronation durbar of 1903.
- 65
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
The only known moving-image footage of the author, filmed at his home, Stormfield, in Redding, Connecticut. The silent short shows Twain walking about his estate, relaxing indoors with his daughters Clara and Jean. No known voice recording survives. Part of this footage has been associated with Edison’s The Prince and the Pauper (1909). Although Thomas Edison has sometimes been mistakenly named as director, he was never credited as director on any films; the actual director of this short is unknown.
- 66
North Sea Fisheries, North Shields
Girls gut herring on the quay at North Shields while a Showman tries to stir up trouble.
- 67
Preston North End v Wolverhampton Wanderers
The Lillywhites take on the Wolves at Deepdale, watched by a large crowd and the club mascot.
- 68
Olympic Games at Athens
This early film offers a snapshot of what became known as the Interim (or Intercalated) Games of 1906. Having hosted the first modern Games in 1896, Athens felt that it should be the permanent venue, but the International Olympic Committee disagreed, wanting the event held in different cities around the world. The compromise was this separate event, to be held in Athens between the official Games every four years.
- 69
Preston Egg Rolling
Thousands of people got together on Easter Monday for the traditional egg rolling.
- 70
Wexford Bull Ring
This film is part of the Mitchell and Kenyon collection - an amazing visual record of everyday life in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century.
- 71
Hunslet v Leeds
A less-than-serious Leeds team take a four-goals-and-two-tries battering from Hunslet.
- 72
Panorama of Ealing from a Moving Tram
A camera sits on top of a moving train, providing a panoramic view of Ealing (western London) as the train moves.
- 73
Wilbur Wright and His Flying Machine
The film begins with a shot of Wilbur Wright starting the engine; an unidentified assistant (quite likely his brother, Orville) is seen at the front of the aircraft. From there, shots of the aircraft in flight with Wright at the controls along with an unidentified passenger cut to shots of onlookers on the ground, presumably military and press liaisons. The aircraft is shown in side-to-side flybys as well as low-altitude passes directly toward and away from the camera. The aerial shots begin at the 1:34 mark immediately after a shot of the aircraft coming to a landing directly approaching the camera. (Wikipedia)
- 74
Eccentric Waltz
Made in 1903, Eccentric Waltz showcases an exhibition by dancers Boldoni and Solinski, residents at the famous Eldorado cabaret in the Boulevard de Strasbourg in Paris. The lavish stencil colouring emphasises the woman's swirling skirt. (BFI)
- 75
Notts County v. Middlesbrough
The game is held up for the camera to do a full tour of the cheering crowds at Trent Bridge, Notts County's home until 1910.
- 76
Santos Dumont Explaining His Air Ship to the Hon. C.S. Rolls
A short documentary registering the meeting between two aviation pioneers: the Brazilian Santos Dumont and the Briton Charles Rolls. In it, Dumont presents his ideas for a future balloon, showing to Rolls the concept of such invention and the project with his notes, all of which the other man delightfully enjoys.
- 77
Weavers
The Manaki brothers, from Avdella Grevenon, shot the first film of the Balkans, the famous "Weavers", in 1905. The protagonist of their first and short film was their grandmother Loukia Manaki, aged 114, who spun wool and wove on the loom.
- 78
Wild Birds in Their Haunts
The picture shows various kinds of birds in their natural environments, and in their natural colors, and at such close range that the very eyes of the little fledglings in the nest are easily discerned. Every feather seems distinct and the birds seem to be in such relief that it appears as though one could almost reach out and catch them.
- 79
Rauschlied aus "Künstlerblut" Tonbild mit Alexander Girardi
- 80
Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa
The entry of the teams and action from both halves of an Edwardian football game at Ewood Park.
- 81
20,000 Employees Entering Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
This film is part of the Mitchell and Kenyon collection - an amazing visual record of everyday life in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century.
- 82
TR in San Francisco, 1903
The following is a scene-by-scene description of the film: The camera was positioned on the southeast corner of O'Farrell Street and Van Ness Avenue, and pans from north to west to south, and then back to west. [Frame: 0100] The view is north on Van Ness Avenue toward the approaching band and cavalry. Students of Whittier School are in the foreground. [0604] The band passing at left is led by conductor Paul Steindorff. [0900] Following the band are the Cleveland Grays, a noted black cavalry troop, led by Captain Young, the first black graduate of West Point. [1398] After a cut in the continuity of the film, the President's carriage approaches along the west side of the avenue.
- 83
Procession of Elephants with Howdahs - India
An elephantine spectacle, likely part of the celebrations for the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India.
- 84
Princeton and Yale Football Game
First is shown a fine panoramic view of the grandstand at the Yale field, showing the enormous gathering of football enthusiasts who have come from far and near to witness the giants struggle for the collegiate championship.
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Tynemouth Swimming Gala in the Haven, North Shields
Edwardian crowds enjoy a fancy-dress swimming race.
- 88
Day School Sports at Park Avenue, Bradford
Barrels of laughs and sackfuls of fun at a school sports event in Edwardian West Yorkshire.
- 89
Rundtur gennem København
Street views from the danish capital. Among the various retailers and businesses seen is Serpent Bicycle Shop, the newly built Hotel Cosmopolite, Hotel d'Angleterre, Bikubens Sparekasse, Østerbros Vinhandel, Hafnia Bicycles, Ferdinand Lørups Isenkram & Udstyr and Jens Karl Jensen's Cravats.
- 90
Sunderland v Leicester Fosse
A resounding win for Sunderland in the FA Cup, urged on by an enthusiastic band.
- 91
West Shore Local
The view from the pilot of an Ulster and Delaware locomotive pulling out of Kingston Union Station through Kingston, NY, in 1906.
- 92
Buxton Skyline
A striking panorama of the Peak District town and its magnificent Georgian Crescent.
- 93
Burnham Beeches
First film of Burnham Beeches, the famous beauty spot and ultimate film location.
- 94
Halifax Catholic Procession
A Mitchell & Kenyon actuality depicting the northern folk of Halifax, dressed in their Sunday best to witness and participate in a Catholic procession.
- 95
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Special March Past of St. Joseph's Scholars and Special Parade of St. Matthew's Pupils, Blackburn
A short documentary of mild curiosity value showing a group of Blackburn school children passing before the camera.
- 97
Salvation Army Parade in Indian Village No.2
Salvation Army General Commissioner Edward Higgins features in the this film of a brass band parade through a village.
- 98
Funeral of Hiram Cronk
View of funeral procession and military parade at funeral for Hiram Cronk, who at the time of his death was the oldest surviving veteran of the War of 1812.
- 99
Opening Ceremonies, New York Subway, October 27, 1904
People on street outside bunting draped building. VIP's out & photographers take pictures. Park & subway entrance. Old bobby helmets on police as VIP's into subway. Pan over waving people with trolley behind and carriage. Appears to be near city hall. Pan inside sideway. People walking out including well-dressed women. Subway past camera left to right. Ceremony. Subway opening.
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