Prior to feature films (ca. 1910) most nickelodeons showed a mixture of short films that juxtaposed a variety of genres and types of entertainment rather than a single full length film. Featuring productions by the Biograph Company and managing director, D. W. Griffith, film historian Tom Gunning will present “actualities”, “scenics”, slapstick comedies, trick films, melodramas and “illustrated songs” presented with tinted photomontage slides. Biograph actors such as Mary Pickford, Mack Sennett, Dorothy Gish and Blanche Sweet will be featured.