Manka Bros. Film Library
The World's Largest Film Library
1907 - 1919
Buying A Loaf Of Bread (1907 - silent short) - The Manka Bros.' first film! Watch Khan Manka buy a loaf of bread. He sure didn't like the price!
Simeon Mankewitz Cries Like Baby (1908 - silent short) - Series of shorts in which the unstable middle Manka brother cries on a New York stoop.
Harry Manka Likes To Get Hit With Juggling Clubs (1909 - silent short) - Series of shorts in which Khan Manka hits his littler brother Harry Manka on the head with a juggling club until he falls down.
Kittens Playing With Balls Of Twine (1910 - silent short) - Filmed by Simeon Manka while he was staying at a mental institution to calm his nerves. [Hugely popular with audiences and saved the studio from financial ruin.]
Cattle Drive (1912 - silent) - One in a series of single-reel comedies starring The Clownboys (formerly the Karnobat Klowns - a Bulgarian comedy troupe.)
The Regatta (1913 - silent short) - Starring The Fireboys (formerly the Yambol Yucksters, a comedy troupe of young boys from Bulgaria). The Fireboys must put out a fire at the Annual Country Club Dance. [Most of the footage was taken from an actual Country Clue fire in Panorama City, CA.]
Graduation Glory (1914 - silent short) - The Fireboys must put out a fire at a graduation ceremony. [Most of the footage was taken from an actual fire during a Graduation Ceremony at a local high school.]
Sing! (1915 - silent) - Manka Bros. first full-length feature film! The film, about a traveling band of Bulgarian gypsies was banned by the Ottoman Empire for its "positive portrayal of Bulgarian gypsies." [Khan Manka was horrified by the reaction saying "that wasn't the intent at all!"]
The Fishing Trip (1916 - silent) - Single-reel comedy starring The Clownboys about a fishing trip gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Stock Market Serenade (1917 - silent) - The Clownboys (featuring Jolly Chester) AND The Fireboys team up and manage to destroy the stock market in a single day.
The Immigrant (1918 - silent) - Two-reel heart-wrenching drama starring Jolly Chester as a penniless circus clown from Bulgaria who comes to America.
The Great War (1919 - silent) - Two-reel war drama starring Jolly Chester and The Clownboys (featuring a final brief appearance by The Fireboys before their tragic accident.)
Simeon Mankewitz Cries Like Baby (1908 - silent short) - Series of shorts in which the unstable middle Manka brother cries on a New York stoop.
Harry Manka Likes To Get Hit With Juggling Clubs (1909 - silent short) - Series of shorts in which Khan Manka hits his littler brother Harry Manka on the head with a juggling club until he falls down.
Kittens Playing With Balls Of Twine (1910 - silent short) - Filmed by Simeon Manka while he was staying at a mental institution to calm his nerves. [Hugely popular with audiences and saved the studio from financial ruin.]
Cattle Drive (1912 - silent) - One in a series of single-reel comedies starring The Clownboys (formerly the Karnobat Klowns - a Bulgarian comedy troupe.)
The Regatta (1913 - silent short) - Starring The Fireboys (formerly the Yambol Yucksters, a comedy troupe of young boys from Bulgaria). The Fireboys must put out a fire at the Annual Country Club Dance. [Most of the footage was taken from an actual Country Clue fire in Panorama City, CA.]
Graduation Glory (1914 - silent short) - The Fireboys must put out a fire at a graduation ceremony. [Most of the footage was taken from an actual fire during a Graduation Ceremony at a local high school.]
Sing! (1915 - silent) - Manka Bros. first full-length feature film! The film, about a traveling band of Bulgarian gypsies was banned by the Ottoman Empire for its "positive portrayal of Bulgarian gypsies." [Khan Manka was horrified by the reaction saying "that wasn't the intent at all!"]
The Fishing Trip (1916 - silent) - Single-reel comedy starring The Clownboys about a fishing trip gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Stock Market Serenade (1917 - silent) - The Clownboys (featuring Jolly Chester) AND The Fireboys team up and manage to destroy the stock market in a single day.
The Immigrant (1918 - silent) - Two-reel heart-wrenching drama starring Jolly Chester as a penniless circus clown from Bulgaria who comes to America.
The Great War (1919 - silent) - Two-reel war drama starring Jolly Chester and The Clownboys (featuring a final brief appearance by The Fireboys before their tragic accident.)
