The Beltway Bandits

The Paper Hangers - Al St. John - Black and White - Silent Film - 1921 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

Charlie Chaplin - El Ladrón - Black and White - Silent Film - 1916 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

Within Our Gates - Black and White - Silent Film - 1919 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Within Our Gates is a 1920 American silent film by the director Oscar Micheaux that portrays the contemporary racial situation in the United States during the early twentieth century, the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the Great Migration of blacks to cities of the North and Midwest, and the emergence of the "New Negro". It was part of a genre called race films. The plot features an African-American woman who goes North in an effort to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South for poor black children. Her romance with a black doctor eventually leads to revelations about her family's past and her own mixed-race, European ancestry. The film portrays racial violence under white supremacy, and the lynching of black people. Produced, written and directed by Micheaux, it is the oldest known surviving film made by an African-American director and has been named as one of the greatest films of all time by a Black director. The film opens with Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer), a young African-American woman, visiting her cousin Alma in the North. Sylvia is waiting for the return of Conrad as they plan to marry. Alma also loves Conrad. Larry, Alma's step brother, attempts to woo Sylvia but is rebuffed. Larry kills a professional gambler after cheating during a game of poker. Alma arranges for Sylvia to be caught in a seemingly compromising situation by Conrad when he returns. Conrad begins to strangle Sylvia but is stopped by Alma. Conrad leaves for Brazil. Sylvia returns to the South. Sylvia meets Rev. Jacobs, a minister who runs a rural school for black children called Piney Woods School. The school is overcrowded, and Rev. Jacobs cannot continue on the small amount offered to blacks for education by the state. With the school facing closure, Sylvia volunteers to return to the North to try to raise $5,000. Sylvia's purse is stolen in Boston. A man named Dr. Vivian chases after the thief and recovers the purse. After running into the street to save a child from being run over, Sylvia is hit by the car herself. As she recovers in the hospital, she meets the owner of the car - Elena Warwick, a wealthy philanthropist. Learning of Sylvia's mission, Elena decides to give her the needed money. When her Southern friend Mrs. Stratton tries to discourage her, Warwick increases her donation to $50,000. This amount will save the school, and Sylvia returns to the South. Rev. Jacobs asks for Sylvia's hand in marriage, but Sylvia, now in love with Dr. Vivian, refuses. Larry, on the run from the police, runs into Sylvia and attempts blackmail with secrets of Sylvia's past. Instead of stealing from the school on Larry's behalf, Sylvia runs away in the night and heads north. Later, Dr. Vivian searches for Sylvia. Larry, who has run out of money and returned to Alma, is fatally shot during an attempted bank robbery. Dr. Vivian by chance ends up treating Larry and meets Alma. Alma tells Dr. Vivian about Sylvia's past: these flashback scenes are portrayed in the film. Sylvia was adopted and raised by a poor black family, the Landrys, who managed to provide her with an education. During her youth, the senior Landry was wrongfully accused of the murder of an unpopular but wealthy white landlord, Gridlestone. A white mob attacked the Landry family, lynching the parents and hunting down their son, who escaped after nearly being shot. The mob also lynched Efrem, a servant of Gridlestone, despite Efrem collaborating with them. Sylvia escaped after being chased and attacked by Gridlestone's brother, who overpowered her and was close to raping her. Noticing a scar on her breast, Gridlestone's brother realized that Sylvia was in fact his mixed-race daughter, born of his marriage to a local black woman. He had paid for her education. After hearing about her life, Dr. Vivian meets with Sylvia; he encourages her to love her country and take pride in the contributions of African Americans. He professes his love for her, and the film ends with their marriage. CAST Gorman and Evelyn Preer Evelyn Preer as Sylvia Landry Floy Clements as Alma Prichard James D. Ruffin as Conrad Drebert, Sylvia's Fiancé Jack Chenault as Larry Prichard, Alma's Stepbrother William Smith as Philip Gentry, a detective Charles D. Lucas as Dr. V. Vivian Bernice Ladd as Mrs. Geraldine Stratton Mrs. Evelyn as Mrs. Elena Warwick William Starks as Jasper Landry Ralph Johnson as Philip Gridlestone E.G. Tatum as Efrem Grant Edwards as Emil Landry Grant Gorman as Armand Gridlestone

Long Distance Wireless Photography - Georges Mlis - Black and White - Silent Film - 1908 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits In a glass-roofed workshop, an inventor is surrounded by mechanical devices for a complicated machine. The inventor's servants show in a respectably dressed lady and gentleman; the inventor welcomes them in and begins to demonstrate his invention to them. Setting the machine in motion, he unrolls a large screen and places a small image of the Three Graces on a chair; thanks to the machine, the Graces are projected at life-size on the screen, and they briefly come to life before disappearing. Next, the inventor and his staff give a further demonstration, with a model in Grecian garb being projected. As before, the projected image takes on its own life, waving to the gentleman visitor. The visitors indicate that they are ready to be photographed by the wireless process, and the lady takes a seat in front of the photographic apparatus. Her head appears in close up, projected on the screen; the projected head makes grotesque faces, including a mostly toothless grin and a fierce scowl. The lady faints from shock and has to be revived with smelling salts. The inventor, proffering apologies, ushers the gentleman client to the seat, but he fares even worse: his projected portrait shows him as a hairy, monkey-like creature, gibbering maniacally. In a rage, the gentleman runs around the room, trying to destroy the machine, but touching one of the devices gives him an electrical shock that makes his hair stand on end. He rushes to his lady companion, whose outer garments are torn apart when she stands too near another device, leaving her in her chemise and petticoats. The two clients leave the studio in a rage, while the inventor and his servants laugh uproariously. Directed by Georges Méliès Starring Georges Méliès Fernande Albany Production company Star Film Company Release date 1908 Running time 115 meters Country France Language Silent

Charlie Chaplin - The Masquerader - Black and White - Silent Film - 1914 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Charlie plays an actor who bungles several scenes and is kicked out. He returns convincingly dressed as a lady and charms the director, but Charlie never makes it into the film. The plot involving a man dressing up as a woman is quite popular in old silent movies. The Masquerader is a 1914 film written and directed by Charles Chaplin and starring Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. Its running time is 9 minutes. It is the tenth film directed and the second written by Chaplin.

Felix Turns The Tide - Pat Sullivan - Black and White - Silent Film - 1922 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

Excursion To The Moon - Segundo De Chomn - Black and White - Silent Film - 1908 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Excursion to the Moon (French: Excursion dans la lune) is a 1908 French silent film directed by Segundo de Chomón. The production was supervised by Ferdinand Zecca, designed by V. Lorant-Heilbronn, and released by Pathé Frères. The film is an unauthorized remake, and an almost shot-by-shot copy, of Georges Méliès's 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. The film follows Méliès's scenario closely and includes many of its features, with some variations: for example, the Selenites are not vulnerable to umbrellas, but rather appear and disappear at will; the capsule lands inside the Man in the Moon's open mouth rather than hitting its eye; and the Selenite who returns to Earth is a "dancing moon-maiden" who is betrothed at the end of the film to one of the astronomers. This film has occasionally been misidentified as a work by Méliès. Of the film's 180 meters, 72 were colorized using a Pathé stencil process.

The Electric Hotel - Segundo De Chomn - Black and White - Silent Film - 1908 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Hôtel électrique (or El hotel eléctrico in Spanish: The Electric Hotel), is a 1908 silent French, comedy-fantasy film directed by Segundo de Chomón and produced by Pathé Frères. The Film stars Segundo de Chomón and Julienne Mathieu. The short appears to be inspired by the 1907 American short film The Haunted Hotel.

Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves - Black and White - Silent Film - Hand Colored - 1902 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

The Panicky Picnic - Camille De Morlhon and Segundo De Chomn - Black and White - Silent Film - 1909 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits In this early silent film a group of people go on a picnic only to find their food infested with bugs and rodents. After taking a carriage back to their residence and going to sleep one of them begins to dream as a very wide use of stop-motion is used to illustrate the dream. The film contains some very interesting effects and scenes for such an age from a dragon spitting fire to a pot turning into a clay head through stop-motion. This film was released in France in 1909 under the title, "Une excursion incohérente," and was directed by Camille de Morlhon with film work by Segundo de Chomón.

The Airship Destroyer - Walter R. Booth - Black and White - Silent Film - 1909 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits An inventor uses a wireless controlled flying torpedo to destroy enemy airships.

The Merry Frolics Of Satan - George Melies - Black and White - Silent Film - 1906 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits An English engineer and inventor, William Crackford, is visited in his workshop by a messenger, who tells him that the famous alchemist Alcofrisbas is interested in selling him a powerful talisman. Arriving in Alcofrisbas's mysterious laboratory, where they are attacked and confused by magically moving and transforming pieces of furniture, Crackford and his servant John explain to the alchemist that they hope to make a high-speed trip around the world. Alcofrisbas promises to make the trip possible. With the help of his seven laboratory assistants, Alcofrisbas makes a batch of large magical pills for the engineer and demonstrates that, by hurling a pill upon the ground, Crackford can have any wish gratified. Crackford, in his excitement, does not read the terms of the contract he is asked to sign, and so remains blissfully unaware that he has just sold his soul to the Devil. When Crackford and John leave, "Alcofrisbas" resumes his true identity—Mephistopheles—and his "assistants" are revealed to be the Seven Deadly Sins. Crackford comes home to dinner, where his wife and daughters are waiting for him. Wanting to try out the pills, he throws one to the floor. Immediately, two servants in livery burst out of a trunk, opening it to reveal more servants and a smaller trunk, who open it to reveal still more servants and another trunk, and so on; the process goes on until the dining room is full of servants, who load all of Crackford's furniture, as well as Crackford himself and his family, into the trunks. In the blink of an eye the trunks become a miniature train for the family, driven by John the servant. Crackford's high-speed tour has begun. The tiny train wends its way out of the city, meeting with ridicule from onlookers. Arriving in the countryside, most of the train and all of Crackford's family are lost in an accident with a collapsing bridge; Crackford, caring only for his world tour, continues on undismayed. Crackford and John stop at a village inn, the landlord of which is again Mephistopheles in disguise. The two travelers find their attempts to eat confounded by magical disappearances and transformations; in despair, they go to the kitchen to eat with the servants, only to be disrupted by apes and demons in a farcical pandemonium of appearances and disappearances using every possible entrance and exit. Fleeing out of the inn, the travelers make an escape in a horse and buggy, which Mephistopheles promptly transforms into a magical carriage made out of stars and comets and drawn by a bizarre mythological horse. Mephistopheles, following the travelers in an automobile, drives them up the slope of Mount Vesuvius and directly into an eruption. In a burst of lava and flames, the infernal carriage is shot into the sky and makes a voyage through space, flying past stars and planets. Colliding with a thunderstorm, the carriage bursts apart; Crackford and John tumble through space and crash through the ceiling of a dining room. Just as Crackford thinks he is about to get a bite to eat at last, Mephistopheles appears to fulfill the terms of the contract. Crackford is led into the Underworld, where gleeful demons turn him on a spit over the infernal flames.

Blue Beard - Georges Mlis - Black and White - Silent Film - 1901 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits A sinister aristocrat, Blue Beard, is looking for a beautiful woman to become his wife. Lured by his great riches, many noble families bring their most eligible daughters to meet him. None of the young women want to marry him, both due to his ghastly appearance and because he has already had seven previous wives – all of whom have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Bluebeard's great wealth, however, persuades one father to give his daughter's hand to him. She has no choice but to marry him, and after a lavish wedding feast, she begins her new life in his castle. One day as Blue Beard is going away on a journey, he entrusts the keys to his castle to her and warns his wife never to go into a particular room. Caught between the fear of her husband's wrath and her own curiosity, she is unsure of what to do regarding the forbidden chamber. Her curiosity manifests itself as an imp who taunts and mocks her with potential promises that the room might contain. In contrast, her better judgment comes in the form of a guardian angel, who attempts to dissuade her from entering the locked door. When her curiosity finally gets the best of her, she realizes that she has placed herself in great danger. She enters the dimly lit room, making out strange bag shapes. The room is a torture chamber, and these bags are dead bodies: the seven past wives of the murderous Blue Beard hanging on hooks, dripping stale blood onto the floor. The new wife drops the key in her horror and is stained with dead wives' blood which the wife relentlessly tries to wash off. Later that night, she dreams of seven giant keys haunting her. On Blue Beard's return, he discovers his wife's untamable curiosity and violently shakes her. She runs to the top of the tower and calls to her sister and brothers. Her relatives save her from death and pin Blue Beard with a sword to the castle walls. The angel appears to restore the murdered wives to life, and they are married to seven great lords.

The Policemen's Little Run - Ferdinand Zecca - Black and White - Silent Film - 1907 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits A policeman spots a dog stealing a piece of meat from a butcher's shop, and gives chase. Soon several more policemen have joined the pursuit. But the chase does not turn out as the policemen expect.

Modern Sculptors - Segundo De Chomn - Black and White - Silent Film - 1908 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits In the middle of a theatre stage, much to our surprise, a modern sculptor's minuscule creations come to life, until the grand finale where an astonishing metamorphosis awaits.

Shadows - Lon Chaney ~ Marguerite De La Motte - Black and White - Silent Film - 1922 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Shadows is a dramatic 1922 silent film starring Lon Chaney, Marguerite De La Motte, Harrison Ford and John Sainpolis. Shadows is a tale of a gentle Chinese immigrant trying to make a life for himself in a small New England town who comes across a vile plot to blackmail two good townspeople. It was directed by Tom Forman. The screenplay was written by Eve Unsell and Hope Loring, based on Ching, Ching, Chinaman, a short story by Wilbur Daniel Steele. The photography was by Harry Perry, and Louis Gottschalk supplied the music score, for which Eve Unsell also wrote the lyrics. A physically abusive fisherman by the name of Daniel Gibbs (Walter Long) leaves his wife Sympathy Gibbs (De La Motte) to go on a fishing expedition with other villagers from their village of Urkey and the ship is lost in a storm. Only two men survive, one villager and a mysterious old hunchbacked Chinese stranger named Yen Sin (Chaney). Being Chinese and refusing to take part in a Christian service held on the beach for those lost, he is treated like an outcast and forced to live on a small houseboat moored in the harbor. He makes his living doing laundry from his boat, and is soon greeted by the new minister, John Malden (Ford), who tries unsuccessfully to convert him. Love blossoms between the Reverend Malden and Sympathy, and they are soon married, to the chagrin of the town's wealthy banker, Nate Snow (John Sainpolis). Sympathy soon befriends Yen Sin after she defends him against several white kids taunting him in the street. (Yen Sin later befriends one of the kids who had taunted him, whom he calls "Mr. Bad Boy", by giving the boy candy.) Snow concocts a blackmail scheme, writing an anonymous letter to the married couple, claiming to be Sympathy's lost husband Daniel and demanding payment to keep quiet. Malden receives the letter just before going on a trip with Snow (not knowing Snow wrote the letter), and leaves the now pregnant Sympathy at home. Yen Sin tells Malden to be sure and get his laundry done while he's away on the trip by using his Asian friend in that other city named Sam Low, who is planning to act as an informant for Yen Sin. While he is away, their baby is born, and Malden now decides to pay the blackmail money in order to avoid a horrible scandal. Malden, upon his return, is so distraught that he resigns from the ministry, and asks Snow if he can borrow money from him to pay off Daniel Gibbs. Snow does not get to enjoy the benefits of his deception however, as Yen Sin exposes the blackmail plot in order to vindicate the young couple, revealing everything he knows from his deathbed. Malden forgives Snow for all the trouble he caused him and his wife, and when Yen Sin witnesses this act of forgiveness, he agrees to convert to Christianity. He sails off in his houseboat at the end, disappearing into the sunset, wishing to die at sea. Before he leaves, he bids farewell to his young friend Mr. Bad Boy, who cries as he watches Yen Sin sail away. CAST Lon Chaney as Yen Sin Marguerite De La Motte as Sympathy Gibbs Harrison Ford as John Malden John St. Polis as Nate Snow (credited as John Sainpolis) Walter Long as Daniel Gibbs Buddy Messinger as Mr 'Bad Boy' Priscilla Bonner as Mary Brent Frances Raymond as Emsy Nickerson Joe Murphy as Townsman Billie Latimer as Tall Woman

Max Is Stuck Up - Max Linder - Black and White - Silent Film - 1910 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits This film was released in 1910 in France under the name, "Max ne se mariera pas," by Max Linder. Max is invited to a dinner party. On his way he stops at the baker's to secure a few choice confections, and while there steps on a piece of sticky fly-paper. With great solicitude the baker asks Max to sit down while he removes the offending bit of paper. This Max does, but unfortunately deposits himself upon a similar piece of paper which is on the chair. This, too, is removed by the now excited baker, but Max manages to carry off with him a nice large sticky piece fastened on his sleeve. This he discovers at his sweetheart's home and in endeavoring to remove it, he gets it fastened to both hands and both feet. Nobody but a contortionist could ever get rid of those terrible pieces of paper, and to add to Max's misery, when he gets to the table he finds that having picked up his fork he cannot get loose of it. His glass, too, sticks to his hands and when his future father-in-law passes him a platter, Max cannot let loose and the entire party gets embroiled over who shall have the platter. CAST Max Linder Gabrielle Lange

1967 - 32nd reel - Lake Fun - 8mm Historic American Family Home Movies - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

The Mechanical Man aka L'uomo meccanico - Black and White - Silent Film - 1921 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits The Mechanical Man (Italian: L'uomo meccanico) is a 1921 Italian science fiction film directed by André Deed (who also starred in the film as the comedic character Saltarello). It was produced in 1920 and released in November 1921. It is one of the first science fiction films produced in Italy, and the first film showing a battle between two robots. The cinematographer was Alberto Chentrens. The story begins with a scientist creating a device shaped like a man that can be remote-controlled by a machine. The mechanical man possesses super-human speed and strength. The scientist is killed however by a gang of criminals, led by a woman named Mado, who wish to obtain his secret of building a mechanical man. The criminals are captured before they are able to get them, and are brought to trial and condemned. Mado manages to escape and kidnaps the scientist's niece, forcing her to give her the blueprints which she uses to build a mechanical man. The mechanical man is used to commit a variety of crimes including murder, all controlled by Mado. The scientist's brother (Gabriel Moreau) however is successful in creating a second mechanical man which he uses to combat the original. The two mechanical men fight each other in an opera house and end up destroying each other as well as the opera house. During the final battle, Mado frantically attempts to control the mechanical man and is electrocuted at the control panel by a short circuit. CAST André Deed: Modestino D'Ara, or Saltarello Valentina Frascaroli: Margherita Donadieff, or Mado Mathilde Lambert: Elena D'Ara Gabriel Moreau: Professor D'Ara Ferdinando Vivas-May Giulia Costa

1967 - 31st reel - Heidi's Puppies - 8mm Historic American Family Home Movies - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

Charlie Chaplin - Dough and Dynamite - Black and White - Silent Film - 1914 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

1966 - 30th reel - Baby Natalie - 8mm Historic American Family Home Movies - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

1963 - 28th reel - Christmas - 8mm Historic American Family Home Movies -Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits

Keystone Cops - Love Loot and Crash - Black and White - Silent Film - 1915 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Dora and her father are at a loss in the kitchen (they have just fired their cook). Their advertisement for a new cook in a newspaper attracts two crooks (one of which is Fritz Schade). He dresses like a woman to apply for the job. At his first opportunity he plans to loot the house. Dora's suitor, Harold passes her a note through the window, saying to come when he whistles. She goes upstairs to pack a bundle of clothes. A policeman calls at the kitchen door with a posy of flowers. The cook pours the cop a glass from a large jug. Father is suspicious when he hears Harold's whistle and goes to Dora's room. Schade tricks the cop into the basement to get more drink and locks the trap-door. He pulls a heavy bit of furniture over the trap-door and picks up his bundle of stolen silverware to leave. He escapes through the window where Harold is expecting Dora to appear. As the crook has his head covered Harold thinks it is Dora and speeds off on his motorcycle with the crook riding pillion. Father helps the policeman escape but meanwhile Schade's accomplice has arrived outside the window in a car. He whistles and Dora comes out of the window. and gets in the back seat. Father grabs the back of the car as it speeds off. The motorcycle crashes through various objects. Father pulls himself into the back of the car with his daughter. The Keystone Cops commandeer a second car and give chase. After a crash Dora and her father catch up with Harold and father then rides pillion giving chase to the two crooks who are now together in the first car. The car ends at a seaside boardwalk and the driverless car spins round with the crooks on the bonnet before knocking two anglers into the sea. Harold and father fly off a ramp into the sea as Dora watches in shock. The second car arrives and the police get out. As the policeman peer into the sea the driver of the second car bumps them and everyone ends in the sea. CAST Charley Chase as Harold, Dora's Suitor Fontaine La Rue (credited as Dora Rodgers) as Dora Josef Swickard as Dora's Father, a Banker Nick Cogley William Hauber (billed as W.C. Hauber) Fritz Schade as Plump crook Joseph Sweet as Thin Crook Harold Lloyd as Italian Fruit Vendor (uncredited) The Keystone Cops

Charlie Chaplin - The Rival Mashers aka Those Love Pangs - Black and White - Silent Film - 1914 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBandits Charlie (Charles Chaplin) and a rival (Chester Conklin) vie for the favors of their landlady (Peggy Page), but later in the park they each fall for different girls.