Kidnapped in New York (Silent)

In New York City, a rich man's baby daughter is kidnapped by crooks who hold her for ransom. A brave detective, Dooley, goes undercover as a homeless bum in the Italian ghetto to find her. When the kidnappers discover the cop's deception, both Dooley and the child's lives are in danger.

An early crime drama, Kidnapped in New York actually starts off like a travelogue, with seven minutes worth of priceless footage of the Big Apple in 1914, including the Lower Side, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Grand Central Station. Baby Marie Osborne was the first major child star of the silent era. In her adulthood, she began a new career as a costumer and wardrobe supervisor, working on such lavish motion pictures as Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and Cleopatra (1963). She passed away at the age of 99 in 2010, survived by her five grandchildren.

PLUS BONUS SHORTS:

THE THIEVING HAND (1908): Paul Panzer is a one-armed beggar who receives an artificial limb transplant. He quickly realizes that the new appendage has a mind of its own! This surreal short -- which makes astonishing use of stop-motion and trick photography for 1908 -- was shot on location in Flatbush, Brooklyn!

COURT HOUSE CROOKS (1915): Directed by Charley Chase, Court House Crooks features rascally Ford Sterling trying to cover up his affair with a judge's buxom wife (Minta Durfee). He ends up pinning blame on a young Harold Lloyd, in his first lead role! "Chase directed Lloyd before anyone," says John Carpenter, "and the camera setups are great. Chase's directing gives it a higher quality than any other two-reeler from 1915."

KIDDING THE KIDNAPPER (1920): A one-reeler eerily similar to Kidnapped in New York, except this is a comedy starring Milburn Morante. The three-year-old daughter of a millionaire is kidnapped. She is rescued by a bumbling train agent.

• silent