Titles from the 1920s
120 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 next
C (continued)
Charles Ulm documentary – c1928
Historical footage such as this of Charles Ulm, hints at the challenges early aviation pioneers would have faced.
The Cheaters (silent) feature film – 1929
Paula Marsh decides to end her career as a thief after falling in love with Lee Travers, son of a wealthy businessman.
Children’s Party, Boys Wrestling and Outdoor Performances home movie – c1925
Cameras were relatively expensive in the 1920s and mostly confined to families who could afford the new technology.
Christmas Hustle and Bustle: Crowds Leave for Well-deserved Holiday on 22 December newsreel – 1928
This Christmas 1928 newsreel includes a hint of the economic hardships of the time by contrasting well-dressed women with two homeless swagmen.
City Traffic in Variable Moods newsreel – c1920
This newsreel item is an example of how simple camera techniques can dramatically alter the appearance and mood of scenes that are filmed.
Commonwealth Film Laboratories documentary – c1928
The provenance of this film fragment is unclear, but it could have been promoting the lab’s services.
D
Dame Nellie in the Mitchell Estate Garden, Lilydale home movie – c1927
This is home movie footage of opera star Dame Nellie Melba at her home, the Mitchell Estate Garden in Lilydale, Victoria.
Darwin c1926 historical – c1926
This historical and cultural record of Darwin in the 1920s includes valuable footage of the city’s environment and its multicultural population.
A Day at an Engineering Works sponsored film – c1926
This Made in Australia Council documentary details work at the largest engineering works in South Australia at the time.
Delegates to the Australian Labor Party’s Easter Conference at the Trades Hall Melbourne newsreel – 1928
This is rare footage of key historical figures of the ALP and trade union movement at a 1928 conference at Melbourne Trades Hall.
E
The Evolution of a Chocolate sponsored film – 1925
The chocolate factory which features in this film employed over 2,000 people and – according to the intertitles – was one of 'the best producers of chocolates’.
The Exploits of the Emden feature film – 1928
A reconstruction of Ken G Hall’s composite film about the destruction of the German warship Emden in November 1914.
F
Factory to Farm: Making Agricultural Implements in Australia sponsored film – c1925
This film provides a visual record of the inner workings of an agricultural implements factory as well as the role of sheet metal workers and fitters and turners.
The Far Paradise feature film – 1928
Despite their love for each other, family loyalties keep Cherry Carson and Peter Lawton apart until Cherry learns the truth about her father’s past.
Federal Capital Commission: Anti-Fly Campaign sponsored film – c1928
This public relations film explains an anti-fly campaign. It depicts a series of familiar situations in which flies are present and demonstrates acceptable methods of dealing with them.
For the Term of His Natural Life feature film – 1927
The use of locations, particularly Port Arthur, is probably the film’s strongest asset, lending both veracity and visual impact. The other real strength of the film is its confident use of special effects.
From the Bush to the Bungalow documentary – 1920
Produced at a time when the timber industry was considered romantic, Bush Bungalow shows the power of nature and man’s ability to conquer it.
H
Here Comes Santa advertisement – 1929
In this 1929 cinema advertisement, Santa and a young girl dressed as a fairy arrive by horse-drawn carriage at Alexandra Hospital and distribute presents.
Hinkler’s Message to Australia; Incidents of My Flight spoken word – 1928
‘Now I want to tell you a few things about flying …’
Hoyts and Studebaker Cinema Advertisement: Touring Talkie Show advertisement – c1929
This advertisement positions the joint Hoyts, Shell and Studebaker venture as a service which audiences in country areas both need and deserve.
Hoyts Cinemas: Talkies for Country Areas advertisement – c1929
It wasn’t until 1937 that all Australian cinemas countrywide had been converted to sound.
K
Kiddies of Queensland Enjoy Outings in their Billy Carts: Rockhampton newsreel – c1920
This newsreel novelty item from approximately 1920 features boys riding on the back of goats and children in billycarts on the streets of Rockhampton, Queensland.
The Kid Stakes feature film – 1927
The Kid Stakes is one of the greatest comedies of the silent era, although it was largely dismissed at the time as simply a children’s film.
L
Life Guards at Bondi Beach documentary – c1929
From around 1929, this fragment of actuality footage shows a Surf Life Saving carnival at Bondi Beach.
Lifesavers: Cryst-O-Mint Flavour advertisement – 1925
Running for over 17 minutes, this cinema advertisement is long compared to current standards.
M
Magnavox Wireless: Why Jones Chose a Magnavox advertisement – 1925
Compared to contemporary car radios, the Magnavox Wirelesses seems absurd because of its large size.
Maxonol Gramophone: Buy a Good Gramophone and Keep Her at Home advertisement – 1925
Typically for a cinema advertisement of the time, it takes a narrative style and is shot like a slowly paced short film.
Melbourne Scenes historical – c1925
Various subjects such as Alfred Deakin’s funeral and an AFL match reveal glimpses of Victorian life in the 1920s.
A Morning at the World’s Greatest Agricultural Show documentary – c1926
A straightforward glimpse into the lives of the trainers, handlers and owners of horses and livestock competing at the 1926 Royal Agricultural Show.
O
Official Opening of Canberra by His Royal Highness the Duke of York newsreel – 1927
The Duke of York (later King George VI) officially opens Parliament House in Canberra on 19 May 1927. Dame Nellie Melba sings the national anthem, 'God save the King’.
On Our Selection feature film – 1920
On Our Selection is a landmark of the silent era in Australian cinema, and one of the key films in the career of Raymond Longford, the greatest director of that period.
Opal Mining Lightning Ridge documentary – c1925
Davidson collected over a million feet of footage over 40 years including the miracle of a man pulled from a mine shaft, never once hindered by the pipe in his mouth.
The Origin of Oil sponsored film – c1923
Made for the Shell Company of Australia, this industrial documentary traces the path of oil from its initial extraction to the petroleum relied on by consumers.
Overland Whippet Motor Car: Advertisement advertisement – c1926
The Overland was an American motor vehicle company acquired by John Willys early in the 20th century.
P
Peach Growing and Canning in Australia sponsored film – c1926
At the time the film was made, the Leeton State Canning Factory employed approximately 250 people and processed 120 tonnes of fruit a day.
Pearls and Savages documentary – 1921
This 1979 reconstruction of Frank Hurley’s 1921 adventure film Pearls and Savages showcases the peoples and cultures of the Torres Strait Islands and Papua New Guinea.
Piano Making documentary – c1924
This early film offers insights into the workmanship involved in piano manufacture and boasts the slogan, ‘Wherever you trade, buy Australian Made’.
Picturesque Portsea Provides Perfect Pageant newsreel – c1926
This clip of the popular beach and pier at Portsea in Victoria vividly captures the beach fashions and social customs of the 1920s.
The Popular Sport of Surfboarding newsreel – 1925
An early newsreel of pioneering surfboard riders at Bondi Beach in Sydney in 1925.
R
The Rising Generation documentary – c1925
This incomplete documentary from 1926 promotes the public education system in South Australia from kindergarten through to university.
Round About Townsville documentary – 1926
Thought to be one of the Know Your Own Country series from the 1920s, Round About Townsville positions Townsville as a veritable paradise.
S
The Sailors spoken word – 1927
A theatrical comedy routine by vaudeville performers Stiffy (Nat Phillips) and Mo (Roy Rene) recorded in 1927.
Sewerage of a Great City: Melbourne sponsored film – c1922
By the time this sponsored documentary was made, over 166,000 homes and 70,000 people were, according to its intertitles, 'enjoying the benefits of sewerage’ in Melbourne.
Sheep to Shop: Hosiery and Knitted Goods sponsored film – 1924
At one point in this promotional documentary, a machine miraculously 'absorbs yarn at one end and discharges socks at the other’!
Sheep to Shop: Woollen Goods sponsored film – 1924
Made inside a wool mill, this film covers making the yarn, weaving the fabrics, pressing the finished goods and packaging them for distribution nationwide.
A Shining Example sponsored film – c1920
Unlike other films produced by the Made in Australia Council, A Shining Example juxtaposes a tour of an Australian factory with a fictional narrative.
Snapshots around ‘Madras’ home movie – c1926
This is a good example of how, in the early days of moving images, people would often pose for the camera as if they were posing for a still photograph.
Snippy is an Artful Dodger short film – c1925
This charming example of an early Australian cartoon superimposes cell animation over freeze-frames of live action to create Snooks’s dream world.
Sorrento historical – c1922
The many attractions of the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento are promoted in this 1920s footage produced for the Sorrento Progress Association.
