Wallace McCutcheon
2021Dream of a Rarebit Fiend
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
John P. Brawn
A live-action film adaptation of the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. This silent short film follows the established theme: the “Rarebit Fiend” gorges himself on rarebit and thus suffers spectacular hallucinatory dreams.
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend
The 'Teddy' Bears
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
A combination of the story of Goldlocks and the Three Bears with the true story of how Teddy Roosevelt spared a bear cub after killing its mother while hunting, an event which led to the popularization of the teddy bear. Goldilocks goes to sleep in the bears' home after watching six teddy bears dance and do acrobatics, viewing them through a knothole in the wall. When she is awoken by the returning bear family, they give chase through the woods, but she runs to the aid of the Old Rough Rider, who saves her.
The 'Teddy' Bears
The Black Hand
Wallace McCutcheon
Robert G. Vignola, Anthony O'Sullivan
Two gang members send a threatening letter to a butcher, demanding money if he did not want his shop to be destroyed and his daughter Maria kidnapped. When he is unable to meet their request, they take Maria away. The Black Hand is the earliest surviving gangster film.
The Black Hand
From Leadville to Aspen: A Hold-Up in the Rockies
Francis J. Marion, Wallace McCutcheon
A train traveling through the Rockies is held up and boarded by two thugs. They rob the wealthy occupants at gunpoint and then make their getaway by handcar. From there, they hijack a horsecart on a road running parallel to the tracks. Will justice prevail in the end?
From Leadville to Aspen: A Hold-Up in the Rockies
Three American Beauties
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
Blanche Dayo
In this color-tinted short, we first see a close-up of a red rose, perfectly formed. Then, we see the rose held by a young woman who is wearing a bright yellow dress. She's the second beauty. Behind her is a slow dissolve to the US flag, tinted in red, white, and blue, blowing in the wind. Behind the flag is a star-lit sky.
Three American Beauties
The Moonshiner
Wallace McCutcheon
A mountaineer loads a shipment of moonshine whiskey onto his horse-cart, then goes to make a delivery. After he leaves, a revenue agent comes to the mountaineer's house to stake it out, and he soon observes some whiskey being traded for corn. The agent at once goes to alert other revenue officers, who arm themselves with rifles and then begin an immediate search for the moonshiner's still.
The Moonshiner
A Winter Straw Ride
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
Two groups of young women get into a pair of horse-drawn carts, and go off for a straw ride through the snowy streets. As they pass by a group of children, the children throw snowballs at the riders, and they and other persons begin to join in the fun. Then one of the carts tips on its side, spilling some of its occupants into the snow. Everyone soon decides that they enjoy playing in the snow even more than riding.
A Winter Straw Ride
Getting Evidence
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
Paul Panzer, Viola Allen
A jealous husband arrives in the office of Hawkshaw, a private detective. The husband is certain that his wife is being unfaithful, and he wants the detective to produce photographic evidence. The detective tails the wife, and thinks he has caught her, but a sudden mishap prevents him from getting a photo. Despite this and further setbacks, the dedicated detective presses on, determined to fulfill his assignment.
Getting Evidence
The White Caps
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
Kate Toncray, John R. Cumpson
Two members of a vigilante group known as 'The White Caps' post a warning sign on a man's home. When the man comes home, he tears down the sign, and then proceeds to abuse his wife both verbally and physically. As soon as she can get away from him, the wife leaves home with her child to find a place of refuge. When the vigilantes find out about this, they arm themselves with rifles and immediately go to confront the abusive husband.
The White Caps
The Nihilists
Wallace McCutcheon
Edward Dillon
A happy Russian family is broken up when their patriarch is arrested for treason. His distraught wife joins the secret society of nihilists and is assigned to commit an act of terror. Based on the play "Vera; or, The Nihilists" by Oscar Wilde.
The Nihilists
Police Chasing Scorching Auto
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
Police officers pursue a speeding automobile that almost hit a small child. This short is an outtake from Life of an American Policeman (1905). Once that film had been edited to fit a standard 1,000 foot reel, this sequence was left over, so it was sold as a separate short.
Police Chasing Scorching Auto
The Terrible Kids
Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter
Two boys and their dog set out to play a series of practical jokes on their neighbors. After they have caused several disruptions, the police are called, and soon the boys are on the run, pursued by the police and others. In their efforts to escape, the boys receive considerable help from the resourceful dog.
The Terrible Kids
Falsely Accused!
Wallace McCutcheon
Edward Dillon, D. W. Griffith
A wealthy old alchemist and inventor has just perfected a motion picture camera with which he hopes to revolutionize the art of animated photography, and our story opens with the old man in his library studying out the plans of his invention. A telegram calls him hurriedly away. He replaces the papers in his safe, but, in his haste, neglects to lock it, which oversight is pardonable, as his wife and daughter are in the room at the time. The daughter's hand is sought in marriage by a worthy young man, whose attentions are looked upon with favor by herself and her parents. But he has a rival in the person of a contemptible villain, whose motives are purely mercenary, reasoning that this new invention will greatly enhance the father's already ample wealth.
Falsely Accused!
The Sculptor's Nightmare
Wallace McCutcheon
Florence Auer, Edward Dillon
At a political club, the members debate whose bust will replace that of Theodore Roosevelt. Unable to agree, each goes to a sculptor's studio and bribes him to sculpt a bust of the individual favorite. Instead, the sculptor spends their fees on a dinner with his model during which he becomes so inebriated that he is taken to jail. There he has a nightmare, wherein three busts are created and animated from clay (through stop-motion photography) in the likenesses of Democrat William Jennings Bryan and Republicans Charles W. Fairbanks and William Howard Taft. Finally an animated bust of Roosevelt appears.
The Sculptor's Nightmare
