Suspense.

Suspense. (1913) is an American silent thriller directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley — watch it online on iFILM. The film runs just eleven minutes, yet it builds more dread than most features twice its length.

A mother and her infant are left alone in a remote country house when a tramp forces his way in. Her husband steals a car and races to get back in time. What makes this short remarkable is the technique: Weber splits the screen into three simultaneous frames, cutting between the woman, the intruder and the speeding car. Made in 1913, it is one of the earliest known uses of the split-screen in cinema — and Lois Weber herself plays the mother. Stream Suspense. (1913) online on iFILM.