George Gebhardt

The Unknown

Richard Farquhar, the ne'er-do-well nephew of a titled Englishman, after a protracted "good time" finds himself penniless in an Algerian hotel. He expects money from England, but instead receives a cablegram stating his allowance has been stopped and that his uncle will have nothing further to do with him.

The Zulu's Heart

A Boer woman and her daughter are captured by Zulu warriors.

The Sheriff's Adopted Child

The sheriff lives with his sister, and is engaged in running down an unknown bandit who has been quite active in the district. It develops that Jim Brown, a poor miner, who has lost his wife and is in straitened circumstances, has become embittered at the world and is the bandit, living alone with his little boy, Tom.

Jealousy on the Ranch

Although Nell Barclay is very young, she has succeeded in falling in love with Ralph Tracy, a big, manly ranch owner and friend of her father. Louis Potosi, a neighbor, is also in love with Nell. The two suitors attend the round-up held on the Barclay ranch and pay court to the pretty girl while watching the roping and branding of the cattle.

The Black Viper

A thug accosts a girl as she leaves her workplace but a man rescues her. The thug vows revenge and, with the help of two friends, attacks the girl and her rescuer again as they're going for a walk. This time they succeed in kidnapping the rescuer. The girl runs home and gets help from several neighbors. They track the ruffians down to a cabin in the mountains where the gang has trapped their victim and set the cabin on fire.

Money Mad

The central figure is an old miser, a Harpagon of sorts, who, like Frosine, stashes his ill-gotten money in a secret cellar. While the miser is at the bank, exchanging stolen notes for gold coin, a couple of thugs witness the transaction and see their opportunity-- It seems avarice grips the hearts of all those who'd possess the bag.

The Fatal Hour

A young woman (Linda Arvidson) is kidnapped by a band of opportunistic Chinese slavers, led by devious Pong Lee (Harry Solter). A resourceful female police operative (Marion Leonard) is determined to rescue her, and tracks the mastermind of the kidnap plot, Hendricks (George Gebhardt). Though successful in her rescue effort, the rescuer ends up being made a prisoner herself. The slavers plan to make her the victim of a pistol shot to be triggered by the hands of a clock. The heroine is rescued by police seconds before the hands of the clock reach the "fatal hour".

The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals

The amateur dramatic society chooses the Joneses' residence as the location of its next meeting, and both Joneses catch 'the acting bug' in this split-reel subject.

Balked at the Altar

A woman who is filled with romantic ideas is making no secret of her eagerness to find a husband. Her father decides to help her by pressuring and threatening an eligible bachelor, who reluctantly allows wedding plans to be made.

Betrayed by a Handprint

Mrs. Wharton, a dashing widow, gives a party at her beautiful villa in honor of the presentation to her of a handsome diamond necklace by her fiancé. During the evening bridge participated in by a number of the guests, among whom is Myrtle Vane. Miss Vane is playing in wretched luck, and is advised several times by Mrs. Wharton to desist, but she still plays on in the vain hopes of the tide of fortune turning, until at last, in the extreme of desperation, she stakes her all and loses. Shame and disgrace stare her in the face. What can she do to recoup her depleted fortune? As one of the guests there is Professor Francois Paracelsus, the eminent palmister, who of course, was called upon to read the palms of those present. Sheets of paper were prepared and each imprinted their hand on a sheet to be read by the erudite soothsayer at his leisure, and so were left on the drawing room table.

The Song of the Shirt

Adaptation of a poem written by Thomas Hood.

The Taming of the Shrew

Based on Shakespeare's play. Petruchio courts the bad-tempered Katharina, and tries to change her aggressive behavior.

The Cord of Life

Antonine, a worthless, good-for-nothing scoundrel, demands money of his cousin Galora, an energetic, provident husband and father. His demands are met with a positive rebuff, and when he becomes insistent be is forcibly ejected by Galora. As he leaves the tenement he vows to get even, and lies in wait until Galora has gone out on business. Climbing to the fifth floor, on which the Galoras live, he watches his chance, which comes when Mrs. Galora goes for an instant to visit a neighbor on the same floor. Darting into the apartment and raising the window he perceives the awful result of a drop to the ground, five stories below, and so evolves a plan that is dastardly in the extreme. Taking the infant child from the cradle, and placing it in a basket he lets it out with a short rope, the end of which he secures by letting the sash down on it, so that to raise the window would precipitate the baby to destruction.

The Curtain Pole

An upper class drawing room. A gentleman breaks the curtain pole and goes in search of a replacement, but he stops into a pub first. He buys a very long pole, and causes havoc everywhere he passes, accumulating an ever-growing entourage chasing him, until he escapes them through a bit of movie magic, only to discover that the pole has already been replaced.

An Awful Moment

After a judge (Harry Solter) does his job and sentences a man, a gypsy woman (Marion Leonard) erupts in vehement protests and has to be taken forcefully out of the courtroom. Later the gypsy follows the judge to his home and plots a vicious revenge on his wife (Florence Lawrence).

At the Altar

At the Italian boarding house the male boarders were all smitten with the charms of Minnie, the landlady's pretty daughter, but she was of a poetic turn of mind and her soul soared above plebeianism and her aspirations were romantic. Most persistent among her suitors was Grigo, a coarse Sicilian, whose advances were odiously repulsive. The arrival at the boarding house from the old country of Giuseppe Cassella, the violinist, filled the void in her yearning heart. Romantic, poetic and a talented musician, Giuseppe was indeed a desirable husband for Minnie.

Those Awful Hats

A pair of young ladies cause trouble at the cinema with their lavish hats.

The Man in the Box

A poorly compensated bank clerk is, we may say, to that trying position of "Tantalus" in sight of tons of money but not a dollar of his own. This became more torturing as time went on, until at last, when the bank was arranging to ship a large quantity of cash to the West to relieve the recent money stringency, he made up his mind to heed the solicitude of that specter which had haunted him. Listening to the instructions given to the bank's messenger as to the shipment of the funds, he hustles off to a gang of crooks in whose company he had fallen.

The Kentuckian

Mack Sennett appears in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Stage Rustler

Mack Sennett appears as a man in a bar in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

Deceived Slumming Party

Mack Sennett appears as a policeman and waiter in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court

Mack Sennett appears as a policeman in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Girl and the Outlaw

Mack Sennett appears as a Native American in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

Behind the Scenes: Where All Is Not Gold That Glitters

A mother works as a dancer to support her ill daughter. One night while performing, the mother has a vision of her child dying. She rushes home, but it is too late.

The Red Girl

Mack Sennett appears as a man in the bar in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Heart of O Yama

Pretty Miss Chrysanthemum has but little to say as to the disposal of her heart, at least, such is the custom in Japan. Her parents attend to that for her. However, pretty little O Yama Sum had a will of her own, and casting tradition to the winds, insisted upon making her own choice. The Grand Daimio has long loved the pretty O Yama and presents himself before her mother in quest of her hand. His offer is scorned by O Yama, for she loves another, a low-born but worthy warrior.

Where the Breakers Roar

A group of collegiates decide to go for a splash. A lunatic, having escaped from a nearby asylum, heads for the surf, brandishing a knife. Innocent seaside fun becomes a struggle against a maniac on the water.

After Many Years

A castaway returns home after years lost at sea, to the wife and child he left behind. Has she waited faithfully or has she moved on?

Father Gets in the Game

D.W. Griffith film about an elderly father who grows tired of seeing his son bring home beautiful women so he gets a makeover and heads out on the prowl.

Romance of a Jewess

This early D.W. Griffith short shows the director's interest in Jewish ghetto life, portrayed here with sympathy and sentimentality. The melodramatic plot involves the conflict between generations in an immigrant Jewish family.

The Call of the Wild

George Redfeather, the hero of this subject, returns from Carlisle, where he not only graduated with high honors, but was also the star of the college football team. At a reception given in his honor by Lieut. Penrose, an Indian agent, the civilized brave meets Gladys, the lieutenant's daughter, and falls desperately in love with her.

The Pirate's Gold

Young Wilkinson is leaving his dear old mother for a journey to seek his fortune in a foreign clime. Now, the little cottage is situated near the coast. The waters of the sea have been infested with a band of gold-thirsty pirates, who pillaged every ship that came their way. Having successfully perpetuated one of their nefarious exploits, they are struck by a storm and forced to put out from their floundering vessel in a small yawl, in which they place a chest of valuables, for the shore.

The Valet's Wife

Bachelor Reggie writes his uncle that he has a wife and child, but then must produce them when the uncle visits.

The Feud and the Turkey

Mack Sennett appears as a member of the Wilkenson clan in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Test of Friendship

Mack Sennett appears as a guest and a man in the fight in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Christmas Burglars

Mack Sennett appears as one of character Mike McLaren's assistants in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

Mr. Jones at the Ball

Mr. Jones at the Ball is a 1908 American silent short comedy film, part of the once-popular Biograph series centered around the titular Jones and his long-suffering wife. In this film, Jones rips his suit pants and chaos ensues.

The Helping Hand

Mack Sennett appears as a wedding guest in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

One Touch of Nature

"A pathetic story of mother's grief. No more intense emotion can be imagined than a mother's grief for her dead child. and this Biograph subject beautifully portrays a story of maternal bereavement. It also shows the seemingly cruel workings of fate in taking from the earth the happy, well-cared for child while leaving the poor, ragged orphan to be starved and beaten by a couple of merciless wretches, into whose hands she has fallen." --Moving Picture World, Vol. 4, No. 1 (January 2nd, 1909).

The Maniac Cook

A household cook named Margie has a sudden mental breakdown and attacks her employers, the Holland family. After being briefly restrained, she escapes the house and later sneaks back in. Driven by a "fiendish idea," she takes the Holland's infant baby from its crib and hides the child in the kitchen oven before starting a fire beneath it. The parents unknowingly begin to use the oven, but the baby is rescued just in time when the parents discover the plot during a struggle with the cook, who is then arrested by police.

The Honor of Thieves

Two thieves, Ned and Mike, scheme to rob a pawnbroker, Mr. Einstein. Ned seduces Einstein's daughter Rachel to aid their plan, but during the attempted burglary they tie up both victims and set a candle to burn the shop. Rachel frees herself and courageously overpowers the thieves and restores her father's honor.

Love Finds a Way

A Duke's daughter is loved by a gallant knight, but her father wants her to marry another. With the help of his friends, the knight hatches an elaborate scheme to marry his sweetheart.

A Rural Elopement

Countryside lovers Hank and Cynthia plan to elope against the girl's father's wishes. A meddling tramp interferes with their secret meeting and, dressed with Hank's garments, takes the girl with him. Now it's up to Hank to retrieve Cynthia and her father's trust.

The Sacrifice

Oh, the woe of simultaneous birthdays, as were Mr. and Mrs. Hardlucks', and both being of a generous nature, were seized with an insatiable desire to make on this anniversary of their nativity suitable gifts, each to the other, Hardluck has a watch, but no fob. Mrs. Hardluck has a wealth of hair, but no decorative comb for her hair. What is worse, finances are low, or rather exhausted. An idea strikes Hardluck. He will pawn his watch and buy a comb; thus surprising her. Mrs. Hardluck's mind is also illumined by a bright thought. She will sacrifice her hair, and with the money buy him a fob. This they do, of course, unknown to each other. Well, here's the situation: He had no fob for his watch, and she no comb for her hair; but now he has no watch for his fob, and she has no hair for her comb. Mack Sennett appears as an extra in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Criminal Hypnotist

To a reception there is invited a celebrated professor of hypnotism, and during the evening he obliges with an exhibition of his wonderful powers. Several of the guests are put under the influence and made to perform most ridiculous antics, to their embarrassment upon reviving. The daughter of the host is the last to be subjected to the professor's power, and she proves to be such a good subject that the professor at once resolves to make her his unconscious agent in a dastardly plot he at once evolves.

The Fascinating Mrs. Francis

A young man at a party becomes infatuated with Mrs. Francis after she sings for the guests. His father, the host of the party, intervenes, convincing Mrs. Francis to discourage the young man's attentions. The young man, despondent at being turned away, eventually falls for a young woman that is introduced to him, someone his own age. Mrs. Francis comes to realize she truly loves the boy, and her sacrifice, although a right one, hurts her.

The Welcome Burglar

“The Biograph people tell an excellent story in this, and tell it so strongly that it grips very close. The scene where the husband gets into the room to find his wife bending over the dead body of a man is very strong, though perhaps not materially stronger than the one where the girl’s first husband deserts her. Technically the film is excellent. All the little details are worked out to precision and the characters act naturally, as real people might be expected to do in similar circumstances.” --Moving Picture World

Her Indian Hero

The Chief's son, Silver Water, returns from college and is met at the station by the tribe. The Indians make merry to celebrate his homecoming. Hal Benton, an easterner, rides on to ask his way to the hotel, where he is stopping with some friends, among them his fiancée, Veda Mead, and her father. Knowing that the Indian ceremonies will interest his friends, Hal obtains permission to come the next day and bring his friends. The Chief calls Morning Star, an Indian maiden, telling his son that she is to be his squaw. Silver Water is pleased with her. The next day Hal Benton and his friends arrive. While the others inspect the camp, Veda Mead amuses herself with Silver Water and ere long is thoroughly infatuated with him, while the Indian's vanity is touched by the attentions of the society coquette, and he promises to meet her the next day. Their little tete-a-tete is cut short by the entrance of Morning Star.

Hands Up

A newspaperwoman finds trouble aplenty when an Inca tribe believes her to be the reincarnation of their long-lost princess.

Blackbirds

Leonie Sobatsky (Laura Hope Crews) belongs to a ring of international thieves, headed by Bechel (George Gebhardt). She meets English crook Nevil Trask (Thomas Meighan), and they fall in love -- however, neither one knows of the other's criminal ways.

A Modern Knight

Percival Cadwallader Perkins was so bashful that whenever a woman would look at him he would blush like a beet, and this brought the "Happy Family," the cowboys of the Flying U, to calling him "Pink."

Madame Spy

Robert "Bob" Wesley horrifies his father, Admiral John Wesley of the Naval Advisory Board, by failing his examination at the Annapolis naval academy. Bob seizes the chance to redeem himself, however, when he overhears Hanson, the butler, plotting with German agent Count Von Ornstorff to deliver his father's plans for the Atlantic coastal defenses to German Baroness Von Hulda. In Baltimore, Bob meets the baroness' ship and, with the aid of an old college professor, makes her his prisoner. Having impersonated a woman in the college play, Bob disguises himself as the baroness, rendezvous with the spies, and obtains the plans.

Eternal Love

Traveling from the Latin Quarter of Paris to Brittany to seek inspiration for his painting, artist Paul Dachette finds it in the person of Mignon, an orphan who consents to pose for him.

A Calamitous Elopement

A young couple are enjoying a romantic interlude in the young woman's home, when her father discovers them and angrily chases the young man out of the house. They thus decide to elope, and they make plans accordingly. But as they are leaving, a thief discovers their plans, and he decides to turn the situation to his own advantage.

The Ingrate

A hunter lost in the Northern woods is rescued by a trapper and his wife. He makes advances to the wife, is rejected, and tries to kill the trapper.

The Planter's Wife

John Holland, a planter in a small way, is devotedly attached to his wife and infant child. The wife wearies of the monotonous grind of farm life and is easy prey of a contemptible villain, in the person of Tom Roland, the ubiquitous "other man".

The Vaquero's Vow

Mack Sennett appears as a man in the bar and in the wedding party in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

The Stolen Jewels

It would have taken more than the wonderful powers of deduction of a Sherlock Holmes to have dispelled the mystery that shrouded the disappearance of a case of jewels at the home of Robert Jenkins, a wealthy stockbroker, and although they were eventually brought to light, it was through a most remarkable accident.

A Woman's Way

The pretty daughter of a French-Canadian backwoodsman incites the love of a trapper who is so smitten with the beauty of this wood nymph that he purchases her into marriage from her father. The transaction meets with repugnance from the girl. She was entirely contented with conditions, a child of nature, carefree. However, she finds her pleading of no avail, and so pretends to accept the situation. The trapper and Canadian go into the cabin to seal the bargain with a drink, and while inside the girl closes and fastens the door on them and makes her way through the woods to escape.

The Brahma Diamond

An unscrupulous tourist plots to steal the famous diamond, "The Light of the World," tricking a young woman into helping him. She is caught and imprisoned, while he prepares to sell the diamond and make his getaway.

The Politician's Love Story

A haughty politician, on seeing a satirical cartoon in a newspaper, rushes to the paper's offices to shoot the cartoonist. On discovering the cartoonist is a pretty woman, he falls instantly in love and wastes no time in trying to woo her.

The Savage

A short silent film directed by James Joung Deer and starring a very young Bebe Daniels.

The Tavern Keeper’s Daughter

In the lonely wilds of Southern California there stands a rural tavern, kept by an old trapper, who had been widowed years ago; his wife leaving him a most precious legacy in the being of a pretty daughter.

The Hindoo Dagger

Jack Windom experiences a sensation of awe at the reception of the Hindoo dagger from his old chum, Tom, who was traveling in India. Hanging the dagger on the wall. Jack goes out. For some time Jack has discerned a coolness in his wife, and his jealous misgivings were verified when he returned and found her in company with a stranger. Seizing the dagger from the wall he chases the recreant lover from the house and then follows the wife to the bathroom, wither she has flown in terror. Mercilessly he plunges the dagger and flies the place. The lover in hiding sees him leave and returns, and calling aid succeeds in reviving the wife, who afterwards with careful treatment recovers and marries her paramour. However, either from the baneful influence of this diabolical dagger, or the woman's capricious nature, just one year later the second husband enacts the same scene, but with fatal results.

The Fight for Freedom

In a saloon in a Mexican border town, a group of cowboys, including a Mexican named Pedro, play poker. One man is discovered cheating, and is shot dead by Pedro, who is wounded as he attempts to escape. Pedro is followed home by the local sheriff, who proves the next victim of Pedro's quick temper and pistol. Pedro's wife, Juanita, is thrown into jail, but he manages to break her out. They head for the border, unaware that a posse is waiting for them.

The Man and the Woman

John and Tom Wilkins are brothers and most divergent in natures. John is a clergyman and a noble, upright fellow, while Tom is a scapegrace, wild, reckless and unscrupulous. Not having the parental guidance so essential in youth, his father being dead and his mother blind, he drifted into bad company, the contaminating influence deeply affecting his susceptible nature.

For Love of Gold

It is often said there is honor among thieves, but not so, as we shall see in this story. Two denizens of the underworld are seen in their squalid furnished room planning a robbery. Their intended victim is known to hold at all times in his safe at home a large sum of money and a wealth of jewels. Gathering together the tools of their nefarious calling, they start off, arriving at the house shortly after the master had retired for the night.

For a Wife's Honor

Irving Robertson, a successful playwright, has just received a message from out of town to witness the initial performance of one of his plays. As he is about to leave, Henderson, the manager, calls to pay a sum due him for royalties. At the same time, Frank Wilson, a friend of the family, drops in.

The Puppet Crown

A beautiful Russian Princess gives up the throne to wed an American.

The Man of Courage

A molly-coddle son of wealthy parents whose regeneration is brought about through being hit on the head and shipped off in a freight car in dress clothes. In this attire he hits a border town just at the time that his former sweetheart has been carried off on a transcontinental train by a band of Mexican bandits. He goes to her rescue, establishing his manhood when he manages to rescue her from the hands of the hold-up men.

Fighting Through

Maryland Warren is kidnapped by a group of Yaqui Indians, and taken across the border to Mexico. In rescuing her, Robert Carr proves both his bravery and his loyalty to the United States.

A Smoked Husband

After his wife receives an extravagant dress, a man find himself the victim of an attempted burglary; He hides in his fireplace, which is then fired. The police arrive and pursue the man, now covered in soot. He jumps onto the roof below his, landing two dandies into a trough of paint.

The Salvation Army Lass

A girl from the New York slums falls in with crooks. After her love is arrested following a barfight turned deadly, her life seems directionless-- that is, until she's saved from the streets by a band of Salvationists. She enrolls, and soon afterward encounters her former love in the same bar. Her faith is real, and strong, and her former love doesn't like this.

Professor Jeremy's Experiment

Eccentric scientist, Professor Jeremy, creates a truth serum. After experimenting on his cook, revealing her secret whiskey and cigar smuggling, the serum accidentally splashes on Thorpe Willis, a reporter, who confesses his deepest feelings. The professor, annoyed by the widespread attention and requests for the serum, destroys the formula and secures it in a safe. However, a crook, "Smoothy" Smithers, steals the liquid, drops it, and publicly confesses to a burglary. Ultimately, the reporter, Thorpe, crafts a hoax about the serum, and the professor accepts him as his son-in-law.

The Secret of the Submarine

An American adventure film serial comprised of fifteen episodes of two reels (24 min) each. All chapters are presumed lost.