Early films (1874–1899)
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- DirectorP.J.C. JanssenSeries of photographs of the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun in 1874.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeStarsGilbert DommSallie GardnerThe clip shows a jockey, Gilbert Domm, riding a horse, Sallie Gardner. The clip is not filmed; instead, it consists of 24 individual photographs shot in rapid succession, making a moving picture when using a zoopraxiscope.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeStarsEadweard MuybridgeIn this brief photographic sequence, Eadweard Muybridge himself poses nude and swings a miner's pick, in 18 different photographs.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeIndividual photographs of the running of a buffalo shot in rapid succession.
- DirectorÉtienne-Jules MareyA machine tries to replicate a man walking.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeA series a photographs, depicting a nude model coming down a staircase and towards the viewer.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeThis series of images by Muybridge pictures a cockatoo in flight.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceA frame sequence featuring a man walking around a corner.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeEadweard Muybridge's motion photography film depicts a child bringing a bouquet of flowers to a topless woman who kisses his cheek.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeA brief series photography by British Photographer Eadweard Muybridge featuring two boys playing leapfrog.
- DirectorAuguste LumièreLouis LumièreStarsMadeleine KoehlerMarcel KoehlerMrs. Auguste LumiereA train arrives at La Ciotat station.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceStarsAnnie HartleyAdolphe Le PrinceJoseph WhitleyIn the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyJules-Eugène LegrisGeorges MélièsWith the help of a magic cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a variety of supernatural characters.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsAn astronomer falls asleep and has a strange dream involving a fairy queen and the Moon.
- DirectorLouis LumièreWorkers leaving the Lumière factory for lunch in Lyon, France in 1895; a place of great photographic innovation and one of the birth places of cinema.
- DirectorÉmile ReynaudOne night, Arlequin come to see his lover Colombine. But then Pierrot knocks at the door and Colombine and Arlequin hide. Pierrot starts singing but Arlequin scares him and the poor man goes away.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsCarmencitaPerforming on what looks like a small wooden stage, wearing a dress with a hoop skirt and white high-heeled pumps, Carmencita does a dance with kicks and twirls, a smile always on her face.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsAs an elegant maestro of mirage and delusion drapes his beautiful female assistant with a gauzy textile, much to our amazement, the lady vanishes into thin air.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsFrançois ClercBenoît DuvalAn impudent child plays a prank on a gardener innocently watering his plants.
- DirectorAlbert KirchnerEugène PirouStarsLouise WillyA woman undresses on her wedding night.
- DirectorWilliam HeiseStarsMay IrwinJohn C. RiceIn a medium close-up shot of the first kiss ever recorded on screen, two fervent lovers cuddle and talk passionately at hair's breadth, just before the love-smitten gentleman decides to give his chosen one an innocent peck.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsMuch to our amazement, an elegant and masterful illusionist detaches his own head effortlessly from his shoulders for a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAuguste LumièreMrs. Auguste LumiereAndrée LumièreAs part of a maiden public film screening at the Salon Indien, on December 28, in Paris, Auguste Lumière pivots the centre of attention around his baby daughter, as he tries to feed her from a spoon.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceA shot of people walking on The Leeds Bridge.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAuguste LumièreAuguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsCharles KayserJohn OttThree men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around.
- DirectorWilliam 'Daddy' Paley"Company F, 1st Ohio Volunteers, initiating a new man. Nineteen times he bounces in the blanket, and each toss is funnier than the last one."
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsWilliam K.L. DicksonThe earliest extant sound film. William K.L. Dickson stands in the background next to a huge sound pickup horn connected to a Thomas Edison phonograph recorder. As he plays a violin, two men dance in the foreground. This film was made to demonstrate a new Thomas Edison machine, the Kinetophone. These machines were Kinetoscope peepshow viewers mated with Thomas Edison wax cylinder phonographs. But the Kinetophone never caught on and this film was never released. The film still exists, but the phonograph soundtrack has been lost.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsAnnabelle MooreAnnabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dance routines. She uses her dance steps and her long, flowing skirts to create a variety of visual patterns.
- DirectorAlfred ClarkStarsRobert ThomaeMrs. Robert L. ThomasThis short film, one of the first to use camera tricks, depicts the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsFred OttA man (Thomas Edison's assistant) takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. This is one of the earliest Thomas Edison films and was the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAuguste LumièreP.J.C. JanssenThe photographers who need to participate in the congress of Lyon get off a boat in Neuville-sur-Saône, dividing to the right and left.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonAn athlete swings Indian clubs.
- DirectorLouis LumièrePeople start a snowball fight on a street in Lyons, France.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsMlle BarralBleuette BernonCarmelliA fairy godmother magically turns Cinderella's rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. Cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the Prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out?
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsIn this fantastic scene, a man who is eager to retire has a difficult time finding peace, as his nocturnal illusions come to life out of thin air.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAntoine FéraudAntoine LumièreFélicien TreweyTwo men play cards, as a third watches and a waiter brings drinks. The third man pours drinks as the waiter laughs.
- DirectorGeorge Albert SmithStarsLaura BayleyGeorge Albert SmithA humorous subject intended to be run as a part of a railroad scene during the period in which the train is passing through a tunnel.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsGiuseppe Sacco AlbaneseOne of W.K.L. Dickson's laboratory workers horses around for the camera.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsWilliam K.L. DicksonThe very first American film shown to public audiences and the press. It depicts William K.L. Dickson taking off his hat and greeting the audience.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJeanne BradyJehanne d'AlcyThe first film to ever show a nudity scene on screen is a simple presentation of a servant preparing a bath for another woman.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsMrs. Auguste LumiereJeanne-Joséphine LumièreThree men in a rowboat are leaving the harbor.
- DirectorLouis LumièreSeveral little boys run along a pier, then jump into the ocean.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsFrancis E. ButlerAnnie OakleyAnnie Oakley, the 'Little Miss Sure Shot' of the 'Wild West' gives an exhibition of rifle shooting at glass balls and clay pigeons in a film from the Edison Catalog.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceStarsAdolphe Le PrinceA very brief film of a man playing the accordion.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsEugen SandowEugen Sandow, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, appears in the Edison Company's film studio.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsA man tries to get a good night's sleep, but is disturbed by a giant spider that leaps onto his bed, and a battle ensues in hilarious comic fashion.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsHenry Welton"A glove contest between trained cats. A very comical and amusing subject, and is sure to create a great laugh." (by Edison Films)
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsFélicien TreweyThe transformation of the same character in six different characters. A vision of the act of transformation.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseCustomer gets a lightning-fast shave.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsAlice GuyGermaine SerandYvonne SerandThe first film directed by a female director, "The Cabbage Fairy" presents a brief fantasy tale involving a strange fairy who can produce and deliver babies coming out of cabbages. Gently moving through the cabbages and using of lovely gestures, she takes one baby out of there, then makes more magic and delivers two more.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsA man dressed in red is ushered into an antechamber in a Castle and offered a seat. When he tried to sit down the chair moves to the other side of the room causing the man to fall on the floor. Standing up he strides to the chair but on trying to lift it a Spector materializes in the chair, arises and challenges the man. The man pulls out his sword and lunges at the Spector but it changes into a skeleton. Seeing the change the man tried to grab the skeleton but it changes into an armor clad guard. The man attempts to move the guard but a devil appears and waves the man away. The man recoils from the devil and tries to leave but the Spector reappears. Both it and the devil frighten the man from the antechamber.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsA magician and his assistant perform numerous magic acts.
- DirectorLouis LumièreA stationary camera looks across the boulevard at a diagonal toward one corner of Lyon's Cordeliers' Square. It's a long shot, with a great deal of depth of focus. We can see the sky and fronts of four buildings, each four or five stories tall. It's a busy thoroughfare, with pedestrians walking in front of the buildings and crossing the boulevard between horse-drawn vehicles. A double-decker bus passes in front of us, pulled by two horses. Various tradesmen pass on wagons. One van passes.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsGiuseppe Sacco AlbaneseIn an experiment that follows up on the results of 'Monkeyshines, No. 1', an Edison company worker again moves around in front of the motion picture camera.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsSatan appears in a convent and takes the guise of a priest. Before long he is causing all manner of perturbation and despair.
- DirectorLouis LumièreTwo blacksmiths work while the vapors rise in the air. Later, another man arrives and offers a drink.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsOctavie HuvierGaston MélièsGeorges MélièsIn what is considered to be the first remake in the history of cinema, the grand French director, Georges Méliès, directs his very first short film, influenced by the Lumière Brothers' original story in "Partie d'écarté (1896)".
- DirectorLouis LumièreA man tries to get on a horse , but he climbs to one side and falls from the other, until he manages to stay in balance.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAndrée LumièreAuguste LumièreA baby held by his father dips his little hands into a water jug and he can' t catch the goldfish .
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsEugen SandowStrong-man Eugene (Eugen) Sandow poses in a long shot on a bare stage against a black background, wearing only tight trunks and laced sandals. He begins with his arms folded against his chest, looking off screen left, then strikes a variety of poses that accentuate his muscular development. These positions include flexing his right arm with the fist to his head and face to shoulder; turning his back to the camera and flexing his upper arms and shoulder muscles; and, with his back still to the camera, stretching out and up with one arm at a time. Sandow then turns back to face the camera and performs a standing back flip. He closes in the same pose with which he opened From Biograph photo catalog: 24 feet. Still another picture of the great athlete displaying his muscles, and turning a somersault without touching hands to the floor.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsAt a solitary cheap inn, a distant traveller overcome with fatigue has a close encounter with the supernatural.
- DirectorAuguste LumièreAlexandre PromioA train is leaving a railway station at the outskirts of Jerusalem. From the very end of the train a barren, rocky landscape is seen, and some ruins of very old buildings,. Five men walk along the track, tipping their hats when the train departs. When it approaches the station building more people are seen, people of different ethnicity and religion. Some men wear fezzes on their heads and canes in their hands. A Franciscan monk comes walking in the middle of a mixed group of people. The platform outside the station is crowded with people waiting for the next train. Among them is a man with a sword at his side. The big windows of the station are covered with shutters. After the station the train passes a long fence, enclosing a lumberyard.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseTwo men wearing boxing gloves prepare to spar in the Edison Company studio.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsHair CoatParts His HairLast HorseThree Sioux Indians perform a 'buffalo dance', while two others use drums to supply a rhythm. The three dancers move around in a circle as they perform the various actions that are part of the dance.
- DirectorLouis LumièreOutdoors, with a nondescript building in the background, four men stand, each holding the corner of a blanket stretched parallel to the ground. They wear the clothes of laborers. By the back corner on our left stands a uniformed man who seems in charge. A sixth man stands back from the blanket about six paces; he runs forward and takes a leap but stops at the edge of the blanket and is upbraided by the uniformed gent. The same thing happens a second time, but the next three times, he completes a flip, landing on his back in the middle of the blanket, and the four then boost him out toward the camera. The final time seems like it will be his last for awhile.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAndrée LumièreSuzanne Lumière"Two babies are shown seated in high chairs and apparently enjoying themselves. Suddenly one snatches a toy from the other, and they indulge in hair-pulling."
- DirectorÉmile ReynaudPre-cinematograph colour animation of a woman and man at the beach.
- DirectorJames H. White"A number of young ladies, in their night robes, are having a frolic, and are interrupted by a teacher. One girl makes herself *very* conspicuous by crawling under a bed."
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsAnnabelle MooreAnnabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dances. For this performance, her costume has a pair of wings attached to her back, to suggest a butterfly. As she dances, she uses her long, flowing skirts to create visual patterns.
- DirectorJames H. WhiteA woman and a young girl each carry containers of bird feed, and they toss occasional handfuls to the chickens and doves in the farmyard. Most of the chickens stay nearby, but the doves occasionally fly off and then return to eat more.
- DirectorLouis LumièreA skeleton dances joyously, often collapsing into a heap of bones and quickly putting itself back together.
- DirectorGeorge Albert SmithStarsLaura BayleyDorothy SmithHarold SmithBrother and sister are sent to bed on Christmas Eve, and while they are asleep, Santa Claus comes down the chimney and fills their waiting stockings with toys.
- DirectorÉtienne-Jules MareyA cat falls down and lands on its feet.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsIn a traditional "magician" attire, the wizard of illusion and jump cuts, Georges Méliès, says the magic words and conjures up wonders from a plain wooden box.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsThe pious St. Anthony is tormented by visions of seductive women.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsThe pious St. Anthony is tormented by visions of seductive women.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsThe pious St. Anthony is tormented by visions of seductive women.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsThe Glenroy BrothersThe Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete", which depicts a boxer with a classic style trying to contend with an opponent who uses a very unorthodox approach.
- DirectorWilliam Carr CroftsWordsworth DonisthorpeA shot of Trafalgar Square.
- DirectorBirt AcresRobert W. PaulThe sea is quite rough, and at Dover a series of heavy waves pounds against a pier and along the adjacent shoreline. The scene then shifts to a different view of flowing water, and shows a heavy current from a point along a riverbank.
- DirectorLouis LumièreCarmaux is in south-central France, near the Tarn River. As a brick of coke, about four feet high and three feet wide, is gradually pushed out of a smelter into a yard, one worker sprays it with water from a hose while two workers with long metal rakes wait to spread it out. Other workers buzz in and out of the foreground of the stationary camera. Atop the first level of the brick smelter, workers push full carts of coal along a track.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsJuan A. Caicedo"King of the slack wire. His daring feats of balancing as he performs his thrilling feats in midair show that he is perfectly at home." (from Edison Films)
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsLoie FullerAngelic and demonic serpentine dances from dawn of cinema by the Lumière Brothers film, called the Serpentine Dance. The dancer is Loie Fuller; the pioneer modern dancer. Recorded in 1896 in Paris, and hand-colored frame by frame.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsJames J. CorbettPeter CourtneyJames J. Corbett and Peter Courtney meet in a boxing exhibition.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseA group of Sioux Indians from Buffalo Bill's Wild West exhibition demonstrates a dance called a "ghost dance".
- DirectorGeorge Albert SmithStarsLaura BayleyTom GreenA man and woman are flirting when a professor turns on an X-ray machine, revealing their insides. After turning it off again the two have a dispute and break up.
- DirectorJames H. WhiteStarsThomas A. Edison"This film is remarkable in several respects. In the first place, it is full life-size. Secondly, it is the only accurate recent portrait of the great inventor. The scene is an actual one, showing Mr. Edison in working dress engaged in an interesting chemical experiment in his great Laboratory. There is sufficient movement to lead the spectator through the several processes of mixing, pouring, testing, etc. as if he were side by side with the principal. The lights and shadows are vivid, and the apparatus and other accessories complete a startling picture that will appeal to every beholder."
- DirectorAlexandre PromioShort film depicting New York's Broadway and Union Square that gives an insight of everyday life and traffic at that time.
- DirectorAlexandre PromioA male lion, right next to bars that are about 6 or 8 inches apart, keenly watches a uniformed zoo attendant toss small morsels of food into the cage. The lion alternates between finding the food on the cage floor and reaching through the bars to swipe at the man, who stays alarmingly close to the beast. In the background are the large rocks and brick wall at the back of the lion's habitat.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsFrank HammittLee MartinSunfishA fine exhibition of horsemanship by Lee Martin, a genuine cowboy. This particular broncho is an unusually wicked one. (from Edison Films)
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsLuis MartinettiLuis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films made for Edison's kinetoscopes.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsLuis MartinettiLuis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films made for Edison's kinetoscopes.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsLuis MartinettiLuis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films made for Edison's kinetoscopes.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsLuis MartinettiLuis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films made for Edison's kinetoscopes.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsA devil conjures up a dancing woman from a mystical flame.
- A stationary camera looks across Burgundy's River Sâone toward a small military encampment. Four horsemen enter the water in the foreground, each riding his horse as it swims across toward camp or leading it by the bridle as they swim. The men are shirtless. When they reach the middle of the river, seven more shirtless young men, each with a horse, start the crossing. Most begin astride their mount, but end up swimming alongside. Across the river, men stand in front of a large tent to watch and talk. Three officers on a makeshift pier talk to each other and ignore the young men's crossing.
- DirectorFrancis DoublierA household gardener is outside watering the garden. Unknown to him, the son of another servant sneaks up behind him and steps on the hose, stopping the flow of water. The befuddled gardener doesn't know what happened to the water flow, putting the hose nozzle up to his face to investigate. The boy then steps off the hose, resulting in the gardener getting sprayed in the face with water. The boy ends up getting his comeuppance.
- DirectorLouis LumièreFin de siécle elegance. A parade of sorts passes in front of a stationary camera. An ostrich pulls a cart in which two well-dressed girls sit, two mules pull a large cart full of children, two horses pass with children astride, a camel follows with two children atop; last comes a large elephant with children on top and a small elephant alongside. Each animal, except the baby elephant, is decked out and each is attended by at least one man. The children are all in hats and frills. After the animals pass, we see adults out for a walk, the women with parasols and the men with silk hats.
- DirectorLouis LumièreA train arrives at the Perrache station.