Movies: Thomas A. Edison

Two cocks fight whilst being watched by two men....

The Birth of the Telephone (1914) is a Kinetophone short produced by Edison, featuring Thomas A. Watson, assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, discussing his role in the development of the telephone. Recorded at Edison’s Bronx studio, the film is presu...

A short Edison Kinetophone film, distributed by General Film Company, representative of Edison’s early sound-film experiments. Details on plot, cast, and runtime are not fully documented in surviving sources....

A showcase of trapeze artist Alciede Capitaine, billed as “The Perfect Woman,” whose daring feats on the flying bar combined grace with breathtaking athleticism. Produced by Edison in 1898, this title should not be confused with Dickson’s earlier 189...

The Passion Play of Oberammergau (1898) presents scenes from the famed Bavarian passion play, dramatizing the final days of Jesus Christ—from his entry into Jerusalem to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Filmed by the Edison Company, it offered late-...

Shows ice plows in operation, drawn by horses and guided by men on skates. The plows are first operated in one direction and then crosswise, cutting to within four inches of the bottom, after which men saw and cut the ice entirely off in about twelve...

Daily practice of life boat crew, showing boat being upset purposely by the men. As these boats are self-righting and self-bailing, the scene is particularly interesting....

Late 1800s cigarette advertisement produced by Thomas Edison Manufacturing....

The crew of seven dressed in cork jackets, push the boat through the surf; they clamber in and row out to the wreck. 50 ft....

A Kinetophone short featuring Andrew Carnegie speaking on “The Duty of the Wealthy Man,” recorded January 20, 1914, at Edison’s Bronx studio (production number 5113). The motion picture element is presumed lost; however, the synchronized sound cylind...

A location actuality filmed in Philadelphia (May 27–28, 1904) documenting the Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association’s championships: sprint and field events, crowds, and collegiate pageantry, presented with intertitle introductions....

This film records the arrival of the Governor General of Canada, the Earl of Minto, accompanied by the Countess of Minto and their household, as they cross the river in ice canoes. Upon reaching the Quebec side, the canoes encounter a wide ledge of i...

An excellent view of 'The Finest,' on their annual parade and inspection, June 1, 1899. The head of the column is just turning into 14th street from Broadway, the Morton House forming part of the background. Crowds line both sides of the cable car tr...

A beautiful panoramic view of lower New York from Barclay Street to Battery Park, showing a beautiful stereoscopic effect of the sky-scrapers in the business section of the city....

East Side Drive, No. 1 (1896) is a brief, silent actual-city documentary directed by James H. White for Edison. Filmed on New York City’s East Side during high society’s “driving hour,” it captures elegant, horse-drawn carriages gliding through the s...

The evening presentation of distinguished guests from earlier that afternoon....

A satirical short produced to highlight the unreasonable extremes of local film censorship—a film so heavily censored that only the title cards remain!...

An Edison Kinetophone short featuring leading suffragists Harriet May Mills, Mrs. James Lees Laidlaw, Mrs. Raymond Brown, Mrs. John Rogers, Jr., and Elizabeth Freeman delivering speeches in support of women’s right to vote. Produced as part of Edison...