Masterpiece Selection Resonating with the Themes of Shirley Temple:...

Dir: Charles Chaplin

The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.

Dir: Robert F. McGowan

The Mystic J.J.J.'s challenge Ernie's bravery; he spins a tale of saving a rich young girl from kidnappers and of creating a utopia called Freetown.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Young Sherlocks perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Bud Fisher

Mutt and Jeff go on strike and make their own film.

Dir: Winsor McCay

Fragment from an unreleased film that was presumably produced between 1918 and 1921. In it, Gertie the dinosaur encounters the modern era. She has an encounter with a cable car and tells her dinosaur friends about it.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of On Strike perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Dave Fleischer

The Clown causes trouble for the Cartoonist, and a sculptor using the studio, when he escapes from his backdrop and hides in the wet clay of a bust.

Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer

A beautiful but imperious princess refuses all offers of marriage, often condemning her suitors to death. The prince of Denmark comes seeking her hand and, aided by magic objects given to him by a mysterious spirit, seeks to win her love.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Gertie on Tour perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Robert F. McGowan

An unethical merchant moves into town and steals customers from the widowed owner of an established store; the gang steps in to help.

Dir: Fred Niblo

Cardinal Richelieu, engaged in intrigue at the court of Louis XIII, attempts to rule by threatening the queen, who is secretly in love with the Duke of Buckingham. From Gascony comes D'Artagnan to join the King's Musketeers in his quest for adventure. He wins the right to membership by proving his prowess with the sword and forms an eternal alliance with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, the Three Musketeers. After many adventures, he embarks on a dangerous mission to England to recover a diamond brooch, a gift of the king, which the queen has given to Buckingham as a token of affection. He recovers it and returns in time to save the queen from the wrath of Louis, defeat the cardinal's intrigue, and win Constance, the queen's seamstress.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Modeling perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Walt Disney

Mother is making donuts: She throws up a circle of dough, and a cat shoots a hole in it. Later, he fishes them out of the oil with a fishing line; he eats one, and loses all nine lives. Mother puts together a basket for Red to take to Granny. Red uses her cart, which is pushed by her little dog; the cart gets a flat tire, and she inflates a donut to replace it. A wolf (a human lothario) drives by in a flivver, and dashes off to Grandma's house, where he finds a note saying she's gone to the movies. He shrinks his car and stashes it in his pocket, then waits for Red, who stopped to watch a dancing flower. Red arrives, and they go into the house, where he attempts to have his way with her. The dog rushes off and gets help from an airplane pilot, who uses a skyhook to remove the house and, ultimately, lift the wolf in his car and drop him in the lake.

Dir: Chester M. Franklin

While visiting China, an American man falls in love with a young Chinese woman, but he then has second thoughts about the relationship.