Lights On

Modern Times

February 1936 •English

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..

Underground

July 1928 •English

A working-class love story set in and around the London Underground of the 1920s. Two men – gentle Bill and brash Bert – meet and are attracted to the same woman on the same day at the same Underground station. But the lady chooses Bill, and Bert isn't the type to take rejection lightly...

At The Beauty's Altar

September 1917 •Russian

Departure of Love

June 2010 •

‘Departure of Love’ was inspired by the silent film comedy of Buster Keaton and the 1920s.

A Million Bid

May 1927 •English

To satisfy her controlling mother and secure both of their futures, a daughter hesitantly enters a loveless marriage to a wealthy businessman. Years later, after she has uncovered and overcome her mother's deceptions and manipulations, her newfound happiness is threatened with the appearance of a mysterious "man from the sea."

What a Change of Clothes Did

January 1913 •English

Tired of being sought only for his money, a rich man goes on a fishing trip.

That Ice Ticket

November 1921 •English

An important example of amateur filmmaking during this era, That Ice Ticket was made by Angela Murray Gibson who ran Gibson Studios in the small community of Casselton, North Dakota. Gibson cast community members in her productions, taking on multiple roles herself, writing, directing and acting in the films, operating the camera during filming, then processing the footage and editing the finished picture together. Here she plays a young woman managing multiple male suitors with the "help" of her mischievous kid brother.

A Weaver of Dreams

March 1918 •

Unrequited love rules the day as both wealthy Judith Sylvester and her invalid aunt pine for men who got away, but happiness lays ahead for one while hopeful dreams sustain the other.

The Captive

April 1915 •English

Set during the Balkan Wars, The Captive tells the story of Sonia, a young woman living in Montenegro and left to care for her younger brother Milos and the family farm when older brother Marko goes off to battle. Unable to handle the day-to-day tasks following her brother’s tragic death, help comes in the form of Mahmud Hassan, a captured Turk nobleman, now a prisoner of war. Tasked with helping Sonia, their initial frosty relationship soon melts into love. As the war rages on Sonia, Mahmud and Milos will face near-insurmountable obstacles in their quest for a better life amidst the hell of war.

The First Time I Saw Francis Taylor He Was in Slow Motion

September 2016 •Hungarian

She creates time lapses, he is into slow motion. Is it possible to meet in time?

The Enemy

December 1927 •English

Carl Behrend, son of a wealthy businessman, marries Pauli Arndt, daughter of a pacifist professor. When World War I breaks out, Carl is drafted. Pauli and her family and friends are left behind to experience the suffering which befell civilians during the war. Her luck worsens when her father is dismissed from his professorship for teaching that war is evil. Her father argues violently with Carl's father, and degradation and despair descend on Pauli and her family as they await Carl's return from the front.

Love is Madness

September 1917 •Bulgarian

A university student and a girl are in love. The girl’s aunt opposes their love. She has decided to marry her off to a rich suitor. The student decides to cunningly discredit the suitor of her choice before the aunt.

Over the Back Fence

February 1913 •English

Harry Beaumont and Bessie Learn are in love, but their respective uncle and aunt, back fence neighbors, feud bitterly with each other and insist the youngsters have nothing to do with each other. The young leads come up with a plan in this pleasant Edison comedy.

Au pays des lits clos

December 1913 •French

The men of a fishing village rescue a young men from a burning ship. He is the sole survivor. Having lost his memory, he stays in the village, and he is especially helped by a young woman, Annaick, who starts to fall in love with him.

L'Âge d'or

November 1930 •French

The film consists of a series of tightly interlinked vignettes, the most sustained of which details the story of a man and a woman who are passionately in love. Their attempts to consummate their passion are constantly thwarted, by their families, by the Church and bourgeois society in general.

The Miracle Water

February 1914 •Italian

In this sophisticated romantic comedy, healing waters are the cover for an extramarital affair that “cures” the infertility problems of a childless couple.

Broken Goddess

October 1973 •English

Holly Woodlawn is an aimless, lovelorn beauty in this seventies silent short.

The Girl of the Golden West

January 1915 •English

A saloon hostess loves Ramerrez, a notorious highwayman. Sheriff Jack Rance, who loves the girl too, instigates a card game that will determine the fate of all three of them. If she wins, the girl's lover will go free; but if she loses…

Broken Blossoms

May 1919 •English

The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.

City Lights

February 1931 •English

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.