73 Comedy films, Motion picture broadcasting and recorded sound division Images: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine Public Domain Search

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Robetta and Doretto, no. 2 - movie film screenshot

"The pursuit of Hop Lee by an irate policeman"--Maguire & Baucus catalogue. Copyright: no reg. Performers: Phil Doretto, Robetta. Camera, William Heise. Duration: 0:21 at 30 fps. Filmed around November 26, 1894... More

A morning bath / motion picture

An African American mother is shown giving her struggling child a bath. She thrusts him, kicking and struggling, into a tub of foaming suds. 60142 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 31Oct1896; 6... More

May Irwin kiss / motion picture

From Maguire & Baucus catalogue: An osculatory performance by May Irwin and John Rice. The most popular subject ever shown. From Edison films catalog: By May Irwin and John Rice. They get ready to kiss, begin t... More

Pillow fight / motion picture. 19th century, Library of Congress colle...

"A comic subject, clear, bright and characteristic. Shows four girls in their night dresses, engaged in an animated pillow fight. During the action the pillows become torn, and the feathers fly over their heads... More

Seminary girls / motion picture

"A number of young ladies, in their night robes, are having a frolic, and are interrupted by a teacher. One girl makes herself very conspicuous by crawling under a bed. 50 foot strip"--Edison films catalog. 248... More

Fisherman's luck / motion picture

"Two German anglers are fishing, with odd results. One gets a bite, and pulls in a length of stovepipe. The other is so astonished that he falls overboard. 50 feet"--Edison films catalog. 52618 U.S. Copyright O... More

Cripple Creek bar-room scene /. 19th century, Library of Congress coll...

"Shows tap room of the "Miners Arms," stout lady at the bar, and three men playing stud horse. Old toper with a silk hat asleep by the stove. Rough miner enters, bar maid serves him with Red Eye Whiskey and he ... More

Three acrobats - vaudeville film

Vaudeville stage act of two male and one female clown-acrobats who make use of a constructed "break-away" wall of spring-hinged windows and doors. Begins with a male clown in dark tights and leotard with a whit... More

The Astor tramp / motion picture

"A side-splitting subject, showing the mistaken tramp's arrival at the Wm. Waldorf Astor mansion and being discovered comfortably asleep in bed by the lady of the house. Length 100 feet, complete with words of ... More

Mesmerist and country couple /. 19th century, Library of Congress coll...

"Mr. and Mrs. Hayseed have heard of this wonderful Professor, and come to his office. They waken him from a trance, give him a fee and he hypnotizes them. The stunts they do while under his influence would make... More

Why Jones discharged his clerks /

"Great hit. Two delinquent clerks are seated in a broker's office engaged in a game of cards. The boss suddenly appears walking through the corridor. The cards are thrown down in great haste and when the employ... More

Grandma and the bad boys - movie film screenshot

"The scene opens in the kitchen which is strewn with cooking utensils, indicating that grandma is busy preparing the Christmas pastry. Two bad boys of the red headed, freckled face type, enter. The mischievous ... More

Why Mrs. Jones got a divorce / - Public domain portrait print

"The scene opens by showing a pretty cook mixing bread in the kitchen. Jones comes in unexpectedly from a trip and carries a dress suit case. He inquires for his wife and is told by the cook that she is absent.... More

Hooligan assists the magician /

From Edison films catalog: This is a new adventure in which our friend, Mr. Hooligan, appears in an entirely new capacity. On a stage a professor of magic is performing some wonderful experiments, and when he r... More

The clown and the alchemist /. 19th century, Library of Congress colle...

"Although we are led to believe that the ancient alchemists were all powerful, this picture somewhat reverses the order of things. The clown plays some wonderful pranks on the old professor. He appears and disa... More

Chimmie Hicks at the races - movie film screenshot

On a bare stage backed by a dark curtain, a man dressed in a three-piece suit and overcoat holds a racing program and excitedly watches a race supposedly taking place offstage. With enthusiastic jumping and oth... More

Maude's naughty little brother /

"In a charming dining room a very attractive young lady is seen seated at the table, evidently waiting for the caller who is to share a quiet little dinner for two. A moment later a dude of the regular chappy t... More

The enchanted drawing / - vaudeville film

"Upon a large sheet of white paper a cartoonist is seen at work rapidly sketching the portrait of an elderly gentleman of most comical feature and expression. After completing the likeness the artist rapidly dr... More

Love in a hammock / - movie film screenshot

From Edison films catalog: A happy young couple are seated in a hammock under an old oak tree, ardently making love and evidently totally oblivious to all that is taking place about them. Two bad boys suddenly ... More

The old maid having her picture taken /

"Scene opens in a photographer's studio. A typical old maid, impersonated by Mr. Gilbert Saroni [sic], enters to have her picture made. While the photographer is making his camera ready the old maid walks about... More

What happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City /

"The scene as suggested by the title is made on 23d Street, New York City. In front of one of the large newspaper offices on that thoroughfare is a hot air shaft through which immense volumes of air is forced b... More

Trapeze disrobing act motion picture

Camera is positioned as if in the audience at a vaudeville show. Two men in rough clothing are visible in a box on the left as a woman sits on a trapeze over the stage. Fully dressed in street clothing, the tra... More

Laura Comstock's bag-punching dog

Opens with the head and shoulders of a woman in full dress and hat and the front paws and head of a boxer visible behind a sign that reads "Miss Laura Comstock's Bag Punching Dog." Cuts to the dog sitting on hi... More

Aunt Sallie's wonderful bustle /

"A sudden gust of wind sweeps Auntie's bonnet from her head, and she, in attempting to regain it, becomes overbalanced and falls over the stone-wall, landing on her bustle. Upon striking she immediately rebound... More

Terrible Teddy, the grizzly king /

"A burlesque on Theodore Roosevelt hunting mountain lions in Colorado and taken from the New York Journal and Advertiser. The scene opens in a very picturesque wood. Teddy with his large teeth is seen running d... More

What demoralized the barber shop /

Shows several men in a basement barbership who become excited by women walking past the window. The ankles and knees of the passersby are visible to the men below, causing pandemonium among the barbershop custo... More

Catching an early train / - movie film screenshot

H10604 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 9Nov1901; H10604. Camera, Edwin S. Porter. Duration: 0:36 at 16 fps. LC copy does not include the railroad station footage. It ends with the suburbanite... More

The boys think they have one on Foxy Grandpa, but he fools them

Opens on a stage with a stone fence and a painted backdrop of a forest or garden. In front of the fence is a bench, on which sits Joseph Hart as the cartoon character of Foxy Grandpa, reading a newspaper or mag... More

Foxy Grandpa and Polly in a little hilarity

Opens on a stage with a stone fence and a painted backdrop of a forest or garden. Husband and wife team of Hart and DeMar as cartoon characters Foxy Grandpa and Polly enter hand-in-hand from behind the fence. G... More

Fun in a bakery shop / - movie film screenshot

The set is of the interior of a bakery. A man in a baker's hat and costume enters and begins kneading some dough on a table by the oven. He notices a make-believe rat crawling up the side of a nearby barrel and... More

Comedy cake walk - vaudeville film

Five African Americans--three men and two women--perform an exaggerated cakewalk in fancy evening clothes. Two of the men wear formal black tie in tuxedos with tails, while the third wears a gray tux of shiny m... More

The messenger boy's mistake / - movie film screenshot

"'Cholly' wishes to call on his best girl and send her a large bouquet. To find out if the girl really loves him, he sends a note with the messenger boy requesting her to "wear this" if she does. The boy delive... More

Stealing a dinner - vaudeville film

A man sits at the dinner table, with a row of dogs behind him and a black dog sitting near the table in the foreground. When the master rings a bell for service, a dog enters on her hind legs dressed in a serva... More

What happened in the tunnel / - movie film screenshot

"Interior of railroad coach. Pretty young lady and colored maid occupying seat. Young man in rear seat tries to attract young lady's attention. She drops her handkerchief. Young man picks it up and hands it to ... More

Alphonse and Gaston, no. 3 - movie film screenshot

Opens on a set of a saloon or tavern with a long bar and pictures on the wall that include boxers, a ballerina, and a reclining female. At the end of the bar stands the bartender, reading a newspaper. Two men d... More

A frontier flirtation motion picture

Opens on a stage with a painted backdrop of a forest or garden. On a park bench center stage sits a well-dressed woman with a dark veil obscuring her face, holding an open parasol overhead and a closed fan in h... More

The gay shoe clerk / - movie film screenshot

"Scene shows interior of shoe-store. Young lady and chaperone enter. While a fresh young clerk is trying a pair of high-heeled slippers on the young lady, the chaperone seats herself and gets interested in a pa... More

The unappreciated joke / motion picture

"Scene, interior of a street-car. A stout man enters and sits down alongside of a friend and proceeds to read a comic paper. He shows a joke in the paper to his friend, and they both laugh heartily. The friend ... More

Levi & Cohen, the Irish comedians

Opens on a vaudeville or variety stage with a flat painted curtain of a stone fence and garden. On the right side of the stage sits a sign that reads "Zuzu Daffy, Singing Soubret." A boy in an usher's uniform c... More

Street car chivalry / motion picture

"Scene shows interior of crowded street-car. A young lady enters and every man in the car offers her his seat. Presently an elderly stout lady with arm full of bundles enters. All male passengers immediately bu... More

[Buster's revenge on the tramp] /

"The opening scene shows Bridget asleep at the kitchen-table, and Buster enters on tip-toe. After tying her apron over her head and to the back of the chair, he tries to reach a jar of jam on the top shelf of t... More

Dog factory - vaudeville film, Italy

"On the walls of the factory a lot of different varieties of frankfurters are hung. Each is marked with the breed of dog it is made from. A combined dog and bologna making machine is seen in the foreground, and... More

[Buster and Tige put a balloon vendor out of business] /

"Shows an Italian balloon vender near the "Flat-iron" Building, New York City. Mrs. Brown and Buster appear on the scene. Buster begins teasing his mamma to buy him a balloon, but she refuses. Buster whistles f... More

[Buster's dog to the rescue] / - movie film screenshot

"Shows a kitchen and Bridget busy making crullers. Buster enters and begs Bridget to give him one. Bridget refuses and places all the crullers in a basket on the top pantry shelf. She warns Buster not to touch ... More

Buster makes room for his mama at the bargain counter /

"Shows a bargain counter in a department store and a large gathering of women examining goods. It is a special sale, and a great deal of interest is shown by the ladies, who jostle and crowd each other to secur... More

The burglar's slide for life / - movie film screenshot

"The first scene shows the interior of a room in an apartment house. A burglar enters and seeing a portable vapor bath in the corner of the room gets into it to hide. Presently two ladies enter. One is the lady... More

2 A. M. in the subway - movie film screenshot

Opens on a set of a subway platform, with two tracks on either side and stairs leading up to the exit. A policeman stretches wearily and sits on a box, as a uniformed conductor awaits a train. A subway car arri... More

Humorous phases of funny faces /

J. Stuart Blackton "draws" a series of funny faces, including a line drawing of two faces, a man with an umbrella, a line drawing of two faces in profile, and a clown. H75272 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: Th... More

The sculptor's nightmare / motion picture

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,... More

Keeping up with the Joneses. [Men's styles] /

A domestic comedy about the McGinis family--husband Aloysius, wife Clarice, daughter Julie, and housemaid Belladonna. The simple story lines often parody society's concern with material goods as an indicator of... More

Dreamy Dud--he resolves not to smoke /

Dreamy Dud steals a man's pipe because he is fascinated with smoking and blowing smoke rings. He smokes the pipe and the smoke turns into a ghost and carries him up to the moon and leaves him. Dud falls off the... More

Mabel and Fatty viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco, Cal. /

Comedy co-stars Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand take viewers on a tour of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. The antics of Fatty and Mabel are accompanied by shots of Exposition attractions, ... More

The phable of the phat woman / - movie film screenshot

An animated cartoon about a fat lady who attempts unsuccessfully to lose weight. MP506 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: International Film Service, Inc.; 18Jan16; MP506. Story, Tom E. Powers. Duration: 2:08 at ... More

Mr. Nobody Holme--he buys a jitney /

An animated cartoon about Mr. Nobody Holme, who warms up his sluggish automobile with the assistance of a stick of dynamite. MP517 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: International Film Service, Inc.; 1Feb16; MP51... More

Bobby Bumps starts a lodge / - movie film screenshot

Bobby Bumps plays a trick on his friend who wants to be initiated into his lodge. When his friend outsmarts him and saves his life, they both agree to be initiated into the lodge together. MP723 U.S. Copyright ... More

Krazy Kat goes a-wooing / - movie film screenshot

Krazy Kat's serenade outside the window of Ignatz Mouse meets with a barrage of bricks. MP557 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: International Film Service, Inc.; 29Feb16; MP557. Story, George Herriman. Duration:... More

The phable of a busted romance /

An animated cartoon about a workman who recovers and returns Miss Gotrox's lost purse containing 10,000 dollars, and receives a Canadian dime as a reward. MP507 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: International Fi... More

Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the circus /

An animated cartoon about the adventures of Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the circus, where they demonstrate their courage to each other by attempting to scare a woman. MP574 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: In... More

Never again! The story of a speeder cop /

An animated cartoon about an ineffectual policeman (Officer Heeler) who quits the force after a losing battle against speeders. MP519 U.S. Copyright Office Copyright: International Film Service, Inc.; 4Feb16; M... More

The dinosaur and the missing link, a prehistoric tragedy /

Uses clay animation to tell a story of prehistoric times. Three suitors, named the Duke, Stonejaw Steve, and Theophilus Ivoryhead, compete for the hand of Miss Araminta Rockface. Ivoryhead, an unassuming weakli... More

Policy and pie / motion picture

The Captain gets a life insurance policy and gives it to his wife. In gratitude she makes him a pie. The Katzenjammer Kids play a trick on the Captain and sneak toads into his pie so that he would think his wif... More

Dud leaves home / motion picture

Dud wants to buy his girlfriend Maime an ice cream cone so he breaks open his mother's bank, and splits their last dime in half in the process. His mother punishes him so he runs away. Dud is scared by imaginar... More

How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal ...

"The picture opens with a "Personal" advertisement which actually appeared in the New York Herald of August 25th, 1904: "Young French Nobleman, recently arrived, desires to meet wealthy American girl; object ma... More

How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal ...

Rube and Mandy at Coney Island /

"The first scene shows a country couple entering Steeplechase Park. They proceed to amuse themselves on the steeplechase, rope bridge, the "Down and Out" and riding the bulls. The scene then changes to a panora... More

Rube and Mandy at Coney Island /

European rest cure / motion picture

"On the gangplank of one of the large ocean liners leaving New York is shown an old gentleman kissing his wife and daughter good-bye before leaving on a tour abroad for a much needed rest from business cares an... More

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