The Camera Speaks is a strange short subject where famed silent cinematographer Billy Bitzer leaves a new camera and then sees that night watchman Leo Donnelly is guarding one of those old crank cased movie cameras that was state of the art just when silent films were getting going. Bitzer as chief cameraman for David Wark Griffith made his own contribution and no doubt a lot of these films were some of his work.
Donnelly in a dream sequence reminisces with the old camera and they share memories of what they've seen. Not just films with silent stars like Gloria Swanson and Louise Glaum, but newsreel scenes, one in particular with William Jennings Bryan in one of his presidential campaigns.
It's odd that this a film where the message seems to be that we've reached a modern age and stuff like this is nice, but quaint. Personally that's my verdict in this short subject.