Welcome to “The Picture Show Man”, a website dedicated to exploring the history of motion pictures.

 

Journey through those “thrilling days of yesteryear” when a new entertainment medium was created, developed, organized, and finally transformed into today’s multibillion–dollar motion picture industry.

more about this website >>

 

In the Movies section you can watch historically important films and read about their background:

• The first film ever copyrighted, "The Sneeze" >>
• The first screen kiss, the "May Irwin Kiss" >>
• The first box–office blockbuster, "The Great Train Robbery" >>
• The first cartoon, "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" >>
• or watch a humorous scene from a 1944 Hopalong Cassidy movie >>

Our Questions & Answers section is arguably our most popular destination. Here you will find detailed answers to many unusual questions concerning the history of motion pictures. Listed below are a few examples:

• Who was the first actor to be filmed doing a death scene?
• What is the total number of feature films that have been produced worldwide?
• When was the first film score released on a record, and what was it?
• When was color first used in motion pictures?

Our Articles section includes these popular articles:

• C. Aubrey Smith – Hollywood's Resident Englishman
• James Dean – Hollywood's Rebel
• Oscar Levant – Hollywood's Musical "Enfant Terrible"
• Singin' in the Rain – Hollywood's Greatest Musical!
• Movie Censorship in the United States (A Brief History)
• "Film Noir" – What Is It?
• The Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio–Visual Conservation

Our Books & DVDs section lists recently released items that will enhance any collection:

(Go to Recommendations or click on these buttons for a list of suggestions)

All purchases will help support this website.

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