Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to have his career and life chronicled on a large scale by motion picture companies (even though his predecessors, Grover Cleveland and William McKinley, were the first to be filmed). This presentation features films which record events in Roosevelt's life from the Spanish-American War in 1898 to his death in 1919. Besides containing scenes of Roosevelt, these films include views of world figures, politicians, monarchs, and friends and family members of Roosevelt who influenced his life and the era in which he lived. Commemorative events up to 1921 are also included. All in all, it gives a fascinating look at the life of a president in the early 20th century. The films are silent as they were all shot before sound films were made.

Below you will find sample stil clips from four of the films on this CD

Below you will find a of each film on this CD

Arrival of Prince Henry of Prussia and President Roosevelt at Shooter's Island

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Edison Mfg. Co., 1902.

SUMMARY Prince Henry and President Roosevelt walk together up the ganway on Shooters Island to the stand where Miss Alice Rooseevelt christens the German Emperor's yacht Meteor. Following Henry and Roosevelt are Wallace Downy, owner of the ship building firm of Townsend & Downey, the sailors and marines from the Hohensollern, officers from the United States Army and Navy, and invited guests of the President.

Cartoon of TR's reception by crowned heads of Europe

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 1910?

SUMMARY Animated cartoon of TR's reception in Europe during his Apr.-June, 1910 tour. Sequences of crowned heads of Europe sitting in an open automobile, labeled Europe, located on a pier. TR, carrying a big stick, is in the bow of a ship that approaches the pier as the crowned heads wave. Caricatured are: TR; Victor Emanuel III of Italy; Manuel II of Portugal; Franz Joseph I of Austria; Alfonso XIII of Spain; Nicholas II of Russia; Edward VII of Great Britain; Cl ment Falli res of France; and Wilhelm II of Germany.

Cartoon--TR's arrival in Africa

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n., 1909? SUMMARY Animated caricature of the animals' attitude towards TR's arrival in Africa. Views of a huge tree filled with frightened animals, as a monkey on the ground peers over a cliff; he begins jumping up and down, pointing and climbing the tree as TR appears over the rim of the cliff with gun in his hand.

Charles E. Hughes speaking during campaign, Duquesne, Pa., 1916

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Universal Film Manufacturing Co., 1916.

SUMMARY Presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes campaigns in Pittsburgh vicinity on Sept. 27, 1916. Hughes was on a strenuous tour in an attempt to knit together various Republican factions. In Pittsburgh area he was joined by Republican notables, some of whom had been at odds with him: Senator Boies Penrose, Philander Knox, William Flinn. Hughes spoke in opposition to the eight-hour day and was silent on female suffrage. In film Hughes is attended by an official who appears, according to newspaper accounts and photos, to be William H. Coleman, Republican County Chairman. There are three different sequences: Hughes shaking hands with official, both apparently on a flag-draped platform, with young girls in background; Hughes addressing crowd of men in front of stone building; and Hughes speaking to group of workers in street, with background view of row houses. Women and children are visible on house porches. Interior title lists location as Duquesne, Pa.

Chauncey Depew, Senator Perkins, and Governor Whitman of New York, at GOP Convention, 1916, Chicago, Ill.

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Pathe News, 1916.

SUMMARY Scenes from the 16th Republican National Convention held in Chicago, June 7-10, 1916. Long shot of delegates outside the Congress Hotel. Medium shots, from left to right, of Mrs. Olive H. Whitman; Governor Charles S. Whitman of New York (1915-1918 Francis Hendricks, former New York State Senator (1886-1891 George W. Perkins, a leader in the Progressive movement (1912-1916 Chauncey M. Depew, former New York State Senator (1899-1911 and a medium shot of the Coliseum where the convention was in session.

Close-up of TR's grave, 1920

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n., 1920?

SUMMARY Close shot of TR's gravestone, Youngs Memorial Cemetery, Oyster Bay, N.Y. Birth and death dates of TR and birth date of his wife, Edith, are visible.

Colonel Roosevelt is invited to fly in Arch Hoxsey's plane at St. Louis, Mo., 1910

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 1910.

SUMMARY While participating in the Missouri State Republican Party's campaign on October 11, 1910, TR is invited to fly in a biplane with Arch Hoxsey as pilot. Accompanied by Herbert S. Hadley, Governor of Missouri (1909-1913) and two men who appear to be Henry W. Kiel, Mayor of St. Louis, and Sheriff Louis Nolte, TR arrives in motorcade at Kinloch aviation field; man, who appears to be Hoxsey, inspects plane; medium shot of TR as he enters passenger seat of biplane; long shot of plane flying; TR alights from plane, joins waiting crowd, enters automobile and drives away in motorcade.

Count von Bernstorff of Germany

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 191-?

SUMMARY Medium close shot of Count Johann von Bernstorff, German Ambassador to the U.S. (1908-1917), sitting and talking with an unidentified man in a car.

Czar Nicholas of Russia

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n., 191-?

SUMMARY Long shots of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra leaving what may be a church located in Russia and passing between two lines of men who appear to be Cossack Escort of the Imperial Guard; Alexandra walks toward a carriage and the Czar mounts a horse and rides away.

Dr. William Gorgas

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n., 190-?

SUMMARY Film has ca. 2 ft. of views of Dr. William Crawford Gorgas, chief sanitation officer of the Panama Canal (1904-1913) and member of the Isthmian Canal Commission, standing in front of a building; location of this sequence is undetermined. Remainder of film shows Dr. Gorgas and an unidentified man riding on a Panama Canal Company train. The two men are silhouetted against passing scenery of the Canal Zone as Dr. Gorgas shows the other man points of interest. The train passes a body of water which is probably a part of the canal, countryside, buildings probably on Front Street, Colon, including a YMCA club; final scene of people walking across tracks after the train passes.

Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria greeted by his people

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n., 1910?

SUMMARY Views of Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, and an entourage of military officers and civilians walking down a wide avenue; the street is lined with people greeting the Emperor. Interior title notes location as Vienna, Austria and notes TR as being entertained by the Emperor at the palace. TR visited the Emperor in April, 1910; there are no views of TR on film.

Flag services for TR at Oyster Bay, October 1919

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 1919.

SUMMARY On October 27, 1919 the Roosevelt memorial flag, which has been carried across New York State in TR's honor, is brought to rest at his grave in Youngs Memorial Cemetery, Oyster Bay, N.Y. View of two young girls and a boy placing flower bouquet and flag through fence surrounding TR's grave, event may not be part of flag ceremonies. Shots from different angles of memorial flag as it is borne by young men up the steep pathway to the gravesite; five girls sew the 48th and final star on flag at what is probably Cove School in Oyster Bay with group of children and Boy Scouts visible in background; view of children and adults on cemetery grounds. Final scene of Samuel Abbott, originator of memorial flag idea, placing flag on TR's gravesite.

Governor Roosevelt and staff

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1899

SUMMARY From the Biograph picture catalogue: 65 feet. Taken during the land parade in honor of Admiral Dewey, just before the turn into 72nd Street, with Grant's tomb and decorated residences in the background. This entire series of pictures of the Dewey land parade has a very high photographic quality, and the various organizations appear at their best.

Hopi Indians dance for TR at Walpi, Ariz. 1913

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 1913.

SUMMARY On August 20, 1913, TR, numerous visitors, and Hopi Indians observe the performance of the ritual Hopi snake-dance at Walpi, Arizona, on the Hopi Reservation. TR was on a journey through the Southwest with his sons Archie and Quentin, and a young cousin, Nicholas Roosevelt. Crowds, seated and standing, are scattered over adobe dwellings watching the ceremony. The snake-dance takes place around a rough column of rock, with Hopis, in native dress and carrying snakes in their hands and mouths, circling the rock. Close shot of TR, seated and apparently awaiting the beginning of the ritual. Brief shot of Arizona landscape.

Japanese and Russian peace delegates--leaving New York City, 1905

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 1905.

SUMMARY On Aug. 5, 1905 the Japanese and Russian delegations to the Portsmouth Peace Conference left New York City to board ships which would take them first to Oyster Bay to talk with TR and then to the conference in Portsmouth, N.H. Views at the wharf of the New York Yacht Club of the Japanese delegation boarding two U.S. Navy steam launches; part of the Russian delegation walks down a ramp to the wharf; the first three men are unidentified; the last two men are the chief Russian envoys, Sergius Witte and Baron Roman Rosen; the delegation is greeted by third Assistant Secretary of State Herbert H. D. Peirce and others; the Russians board a steam launch; final view of man walking down the ramp and then boarding another launch.

Judge Alton B. Parker & Mayor McClellan at Esopus

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : American Mutoscope and Biograph Company; 1904.

SUMMARY From three camera positions, the Democratic presidential candidate, Judge Parker, bids farewell on the wharf at Esopus to Mayor McClellan and other important Democrats.

Kaiser Wilhelm

CREATED/PUBLISHED S.l. : s.n., 191-?

SUMMARY Various scenes of Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, in different locations: clear view of the Kaiser walking towards camera, with German officers on his left, and a postal delivery service building in immediate background; view of Wilhelm and unidentified man entering carriage, Kaiser with group of men on horseback, Kaiser greeting a line of dignitaries, and final long shot of Wilhelm posing for the camera with a large group.

King Albert of Belgium visits TR's grave, October, 1919

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Fox Film Corp., 1919.

SUMMARY King Albert visits Theodore Roosevelt's grave in Youngs Memorial Cemetery, Oyster Bay, and is accompanied by his son Prince Leopold, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and several dignitaries. Identified in film are Brand Whitlock, Ambassador to Belgium, walking in the rear of the group, and a man who may be Joseph M. Nye walking beside King Albert. Interior title states that King Albert requested that no pictures be taken at gravesite. Film contains only shots of the King's party walking from the grave and of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., King Albert, and an unidentified man sitting in an open car ready to depart.

King Edward's funeral, 1910 (in 2 parts)

CREATED/PUBLISHED S.l. : s.n., 1910

SUMMARY Ceremonial funeral procession of King Edward VII (1901-1910) passing through the streets of London on May 20, 1910. Views of the moving casket, heads of state walking behind the casket, the royal carriage, and various marching military units. Attending the ceremony were Kaiser Wilhelm II, St phen Pichon, Kings of Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Theodore Roosevelt, representing the United States. Roosevelt is visible at ca. ft. 16-21, 126-129, 168-170.

Last known home of Czar Nicholas

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n., 1918?

SUMMARY Camera pans the home of a merchant named Ipatiev, where Nicholas II, last Russian emperor, and his royal family were executed in Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), July 1918. Second sequence is views of men, identified by interior title as Bolshevik prisoners, standing behind barbed wire as guards patrol.

Leonard Wood lays cornerstone of Roosevelt House, 1921

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Pathe News, 1921.

SUMMARY On Jan. 6, 1921, the restoration of TR's birthplace by the Woman's Roosevelt Memorial Association is officially begun with the laying of the Roosevelt House cornerstone. Views of crowds pressing around platform; Major General Leonard Wood, TR's longtime friend and political associate, preparing to set stone in place; Corinne Robinson, TR's sister and a frequent participant in Roosevelt House activities, speaking to assembled crowd. Woman seated on platform is Mrs. John Henry Hammond, president of the WRMA.

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Roosevelt arrives in New York after the World War

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : s.n. , 1919.

SUMMARY Theodore Roosevelt Jr., suffering from a machine gun wound in the leg, returned as a casual from France to New York City aboard the Mauretania on March 6, 1919. Medium close shot of TR Jr., dressed in uniform, aboard what may be the liner Mauretania, docked at the Cunard pier, North River, New York City.

Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. attends Women in War Work Congress in Paris 1918

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Mutual Film Corp., 1918.