How Jones Lost His Roll (1905)

How Jones Lost His Roll is a short comedy film directed by Edwin S. Porter and released in 1905. It is supposed to be the earliest film where the letters of the intertitles were animated using stop motion animation. The letters enter the screen all jumbled up and then gradually form the words after some movement. There's also a scene where two animated hands are seen performing a handshake.

The story in brief:

Jones, the lead character of the film, comes out of a building and counts a roll of money standing in the staircase beside the sidewalk. Mr. Skinflint, a suburb neighbour who was passing by that building sees Jones with the cash and invites him for dinner at his place. After dinner Jones is suggested to play a friendly game of cards with Mr. Skinflint and his wife. Watch the film to see how Mr. Skinflint and his wife cheats Jones and steals all his money and more.

More info on How Jones Lost His Roll and its crew:

• Reviews and ratings of How Jones Lost His Roll - IMDb
• Biography of director Edwin S. Porter - Wikipedia

Animation Movies by Edwin S. Porter