Movies: Alice Guy-Blaché

The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and ...

Dick, a young boy hears wondrous tales of London, where the streets are paced with gold. At night he dreams of the capital. The next day he leaves his country home to see his fortune in London. He fails to find work at first and is almost starving wh...

Peggy Wilson has recently become an orphan and a ward of the Waston family. She’s also inherited the late Robert Wilson’s vast fortune, which puts her very much in Mr. Waston’s favor. He would like his son, Frank, to marry Peggy, but Peggy “is not hi...

When Algie Allmore asks to marry Clarice, the young woman's father gives him one year to prove that he's a man....

It was the first film version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame....

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It's early autumn and Dr. Headley eagerly demonstrates what seems to be a miraculous cure for tuberculosis. Not far from where he is working, the disease seems preparing to soon claim yet another life, a teenage girl named Winifred. Winifred's mother...

A runaway barrel wreaks havoc all over the city....

Based on the opéra comique of the same name, the film follows the exploits of Italian brigand Fra Diavolo....

Sam the white-washer pines for the affluent Lindy, but she has dumped him in favor of another. Sam finds a large sum of money, and goes to New York to enjoy a shopping spree, buying new clothes, jewelry and a car with a driver. Back home, Lindy flips...

Inspired by a Robert W. Service poem, the story concerns a Parisian demimonde named Lucille who becomes the model of an aspiring artist named Robert. Falling in love with Robert, Lucille endeavors to spare him disappointment by secretly buying his "u...

A recent immigrant learns several hard lessons about how husbands in America are expected to behave....

A day prior to embarking on a European trip with his cousin Artie. Greg, a recent college graduate receives a once in a lifetime opportunity granted to him by the support of his friend Tina and her influential family. Despite the positives, he is los...

The first talkie was directed by Alice Guy, the first color film was produced by Lois Weber, who directed more than 300 films over 10 years. Frances Marion wrote screenplays for the Hollywood Star Mary Pickford and won two Oscars, Dorothy Arzner was ...

A youth, the only survivor of a shipwreck, is rescued by two old fishermen. One of the fishermen, who has a little girl the boy's age, decides to adopt him. Ten years later a New York lawyer comes to the fishing town and wants to adopt the child who ...

The Vampire is a surviving 1915 silent film drama directed by Alice Guy and starring Olga Petrova. It is one of Petrova's and Guy's few surviving silent films....

"Danse excentrique" (Gaumont #587) is part of the "Miss Lina Esbrard. Danseuse cosmopolite et serpentine" series of 4 films, and should not be confused with "Danse serpentine" (Gaumont #588, the only extant film in the series), "Danse fantaisiste" (G...

An abused young woman finds safety and love in the arms of a famous novelist....

The Professor will not allow his daughter to marry a non-musician, but Billy, her would-be suitor, cannot play a single note. When he is about to give up, Billy’s roommate suggests bluffing his way into the Professor’s favor with the aid of a suitabl...

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 sin...