How They Lie(1917)

Vintage Erotica Anno 1920(fr)

19 remastered French short films from the 20's. After the horrors of the First World War, a sultry madness takes hold of the French society that no authority can stop. The clandestine cinema is commercialized at the back of specialized booksellers and whorehouses for very delighted customers, through short films. Costumed as priests and nuns, ballet dancers, satyrs, sparrow, apes, telegraph operator, in monk or in bellboy, never mind, everything is a pretext to describe love affairs which crudeness and humor have nothing to envy to the contemporary erotic cinema.

The Angel of Contention(en)

Nettie is beloved by all the boys in the mining camp. Magoon, a big, jovial miner, loves her most of all, however, and asks her to become his wife. Nettie is in love with Colter, a young Easterner, and though it pains her to do so, tells Magoon of the fact. Magoon leaves town to become sheriff of the adjoining county. A murder is committed in the mining camp, and Colter is unjustly accused. Nettie rescues him from jail and sends him to Magoon. The sheriff with admirable self-sacrifice hides his rival, and, when the posse arrives, points out what Nettie has done for the boys of the mining camp. Colter is released, and all the boys escort him back to Nettie.

His Lesson(en)

This shows the regeneration of a gang leader, who remains true to his first sweetheart after his change of fortune.

Samsara(xx)

Darta, a man from an impoverished family, is rejected by the wealthy parents of the woman he loves. Desperate, he strikes a bargain with the Monkey King, performing a dark ritual to gain wealth. However, in doing so, he accidentally curses his wife and child to a life of suffering. Rooted in Indonesian mysticism, this universal narrative explores the insatiable hunger to become something one is not and the boundaries one is willing to cross to achieve it.

Freckles(en)

Freckles, a one-armed orphan tired of being tormented by others runs away eventually finding a place as a watchman in the timber camp, The Limberlost. He falls in love with Angel but feeling unworthy of her keeps his feelings silent until a near catastrophic incident reveals the bond between them.

Evidence(en)

When Florette, a popular actress, and her friend Edith become rivals for the love of Walter Stanley, a leading man, Florette sacrifices her feelings for the other girl. Three years later, Phillip Rowland, a young aristocrat, falls in love with Florette. When Edith intrudes in her affairs, Florette--although she fears unhappiness will result because of their differing social positions--decides to marry Rowland regardless of the consequences. Rowland stands by his wife, although she is snubbed by his family, but when Edith conspires with Walter Stanley to place Florette in a compromising position, Judge Rowland accepts circumstantial evidence as truth and plans for a divorce. Florette, however, cleverly puts her brother-in-law on the defensive; making amends, he has her reinstated in the family's good graces. A lost film.

My Son(en)

A mother and her son's lives are upended by the arrival of a wealthy flapper to their small New England fishing village.

Threads(en)

John Wynn returns to his family after serving time in prison for a crime they believed he didn't commit, or perhaps for an action they had largely moved past. His return creates a "thread" of tension that threatens to unravel the lives his wife, Amelia, and their children have built in his absence. The film focuses on the emotional and societal adjustments required to reintegrate a disgraced family member into a respectable British household.

The Beast in Man(ru)

Remember Their Faces(ru)

A Jewish tannery worker, Nahum Beychik, invents a machine that makes hard work easier in leather tanning. A private entrepreneur, former kulak Lopatin, tries to buy the invention and use it for his own selfish interests. Having met with a decisive refusal from Nahum Beychik, the kulak exploits the anti-Semitic sentiments of the backward part of the workers and, with the help of his accomplices, hooligans and truants, tries to kill the inventor.

The Face Between(en)

On the night of his engagement to Sybil Eliot, Tommy Carteret discovers that his father has been involved in an inappropriate situation with a neighbor's household. To protect his family's name, Tommy takes the blame for his father's actions and leaves town with his friend, Hartwell. The plot follows his journey and the consequences of his sacrifice.

The Dangerous Age(en)

Married for 22 years, Mary Emerson treats her husband, John, more like a son than a husband. He is stung by her rebuffs and, therefore, succumbs to the youthful charms of Gloria Sanderson, whom he meets on a business trip. But just after he mails a letter to Mary telling her that he will not return, John finds Gloria in the arms of her fiancé.

Countess Donelli(de)

A lost film.

The Dagger Woman(xx)

Ivan Savonsky, popular society artist, meets Olga Kartoff, a young woman high in social circles, and while she is instantly attracted by him, he sees in her only the perfect model for his picture, "The Dagger Woman." Studying her, and by carefully playing on her emotions he gains her confidence, and afterward she consents to pose for him. The picture completed, she is grieved and then angered to discover that Ivan's interest rests solely in it, and how it will fare at the exhibition. She pleads with him in vain. The picture is pronounced a masterpiece, and Ivan is in his triumph as he returns to his studio. Here Olga has secreted herself. Humiliated by the reports circulated regarding herself and the artist, and unable longer to bear his disinterest she plunges a dagger to his heart and kills him.

Honor of the Flag(en)

Mary lived with her mother at the XX ranch, which was on the Rio Grande, just across from Mexico, and, as there was a ford there, it was easy for persons to cross from either side. One day, while riding on the Mexican side, she heard screams of distress and came upon Juanita, a beautiful Mexican girl, who had been insulted by Jose, a bad man of that vicinity, who commanded a band of guerrillas, who plundered and stole under the guise of insurrectos.

Castles for Two(en)

An American heiress who goes to Ireland meets a bankrupt lord. She switches places with her maid to avoid fortune hunters.

Heart's Desire(en)

Henri Le Rocque's arrival in an island village causes much anger when he insists upon advanced rental for the land he owns. Accompanying Le Rocque is his nephew Paul, who is recovering from a broken heart. One day, little flower girl Fleurette visits the Le Rocque estate to make a present of a rare flower and is shot as a trespasser. She is nursed back to health at the mansion, and Paul falls in love with her. However, trouble is brewing in the village which will endanger all their lives.

A Sinless Sinner(en)

A forger's arrest shocks his pregnant wife, causing their daughter to suffer strange trances.

You Never Know Women(en)

On her way to the theater, Vera, star of a Russian vaudeville troupe, is rescued from a falling girder by Eugene Foster, a wealthy broker who persists in his efforts to win the girl. Foster engages the troupe to perform at his home, and Vera, stunned by a fall, awakens to find Foster pleading his love, while Norodin, her partner who loves her, sees them embrace. Norodin, who performs an underwater stunt, asks Vera not to be present for his act and causes her to believe him dead; heartbroken, Vera tells Foster of her mistake; and enraged, he attempts to seize her. The magician appears, pins Foster to the wall with knives, and advises him to leave before the last blade is thrown.

Steamboat Bill, Jr.(en)

The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.