Gaumont: Le cinema premier - Volume 1 (1897-1913)
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- DirectorAlice GuyIt could be said that the essence of comedy is the misfortune of others. Among other things, of course. In THE FISHERMAN AT THE STREAM, our fisherman is set upon by a band of swimmers (for the sake of humor). Where there is water, someone should be thrown in. When attacked, fight back!
- DirectorAlice GuySome boys and a dog play in a stream.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsLoie FullerLoie Fuller performs the serpentine dance.
- DirectorAlice GuyA cadger, pretending to be blind, turns round little finger constabulary, putting instead of itself nothing unsuspecting inhabitant.
- DirectorAlice GuyThe Magnetizer uses his powers to change the costumes of the three other players.
- DirectorAlice GuyAlice Guy's brief THE BURGLARS takes a classic cops-and-robbers set-up and places it upon the roofs of Paris circa late-1800s (albeit a Méliès-like set that approximates the city skyline). Second-story men have considerable difficulties once the French police get involved!
- DirectorAlice GuyDISAPPEARING ACT represents, as you might suspect, a magic act. Not any ordinary act, however. More of a "metamorphosis" in the hands of director Alice Guy. In the parlance of the era, the short is an example of a "trick" film (in that the magic performance is a result of camera trickery and not by any slight-of-hand by the performers). A trifle, perhaps, which crosses momentarily into the realm of the supernatural but nonetheless entertaining.
- DirectorAlice GuyAs the title of this Alice Guy war-themed short describes, there is a surprise attack on (or near) a house. The time of day is impossible to verify. Daybreak, evidently. With no particular set-up for the action, it is up to the viewer to decide why these men are here and why there are on the attack.
- DirectorAlice GuyEveryone knows that mixing gambling and liquor can produce unexpected and occasionally dangerous results. As true today as it was back in the late-1800s (when this dramatic short subject was made).
- DirectorAlice GuyA customer places an order at a cafe. While reading his newspaper he doesn't pay attention to the bottles brought by the waiter.
- DirectorAlice GuyYou aren't imaging things. This short, filmed on the aforementioned Avenue de l'Opera in Paris, is backward as intended. As a bit of excessive cleverness, the music (a recent addition) is scored (or, rather, recorded) back-to-front as well. If you'd ever wondered what things were like in the most famous city in France at the beginning of the twentieth century and, specifically, in reverse, now you'll know.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsHenri VallouyFilmmaker Alice Guy creates something of an oddity with this one-minute comedy. An inventor and his assistant create a machine that, true to its title, makes hats and grinds sausages! The absurdity of the device is beside the point. Or, rather, it is the point.
- DirectorAlice GuyA man turns up to have his photograph taken. He and the photographer have different views concerning the composition of the photo.
- DirectorAlice GuyPresumably, this is one in a series of four short dance performances devoted to the seasons. WINTER, SNOW DANCE appears to be the only one of these films to survive (although it isn't clear if Alice Guy made the other three or not). Note the unusual copyright notice that appears momentarily in the lower right-hand corner of the screen and then disappears just as quickly. Numerous tricks of this sort were used during the era to discourage counterfeiting and illegal distribution.
- DirectorAlice GuyChildren play tricks on the landlady, but a potential renter gets doused with the bucket of water.
- DirectorAlice GuySurgery is performed at the turn of the century.
- DirectorAlice GuyPreserved by Filmoteca de Catalunya, Barcelona, PIERRETTE'S ESCAPADES retains the original hand-tinting from the film's release in 1900. Director Alice Guy adapts a brief sequence from the ballet of Arlequin and Pierrette (essentially condensing much of the narrative in under two minutes) to provide some context for a little era-appropriate dancing.
- DirectorAlice GuyHand-tinted film of a couple dance on a stage.
- DirectorAlice Guy#sinopsis A fairy appears on the screen in the middle of a garden, giving birth to a baby of a cabbage.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsLine EshrardLina Esbrard performs the serpentine dance.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsAlice GuyGermaine SerandYvonne SerandA young couple go shopping for a baby.
- DirectorAlice GuyMarried couples can never quite seem to get along. Not even for a minute! In this one-minute Alice Guy short, they're not content with fighting alone. They'll fight with anyone.
- DirectorAlice GuyA woman performs a music hall act with her extremely well-trained dogs.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsFerdinand ZeccaAn uncharacteristic "trick" film from Alice Guy. The fellow prepares for his bath. And prepares. And prepares.
- DirectorAlice GuyA re-telling of the classic tale of Faust in all of two minutes by French filmmaker Alice Guy (later known as Alice Guy-Blaché).
- DirectorAlice GuyIn this early comedy short, the O'Mers appear as bricklayers. All havoc breaks loose, accordingly.
- DirectorAlice GuyA living statue causes problems for unsuspecting clowns.
- DirectorAlice GuyAlms for the poor! A vagabond magician teaches a moral lesson in this Alice Guy short from 1905. When charity comes your way, pass it along.
- DirectorAlice GuyA clown and his dog bounce a balloon in the air, making sure that it never touches the ground.
- DirectorAlice GuyA rooster sits on its perch, crows, and flaps its wings.
- DirectorAlice Guy
- DirectorAlice GuyTrue to its title, THE TANGO is a brief document of a tango. As was common for the era, the film is hand-tinted.
- DirectorAlice GuyIn this brief, hand-tinted short featuring the titular Malagueña (a woman from Málaga) and a bullfighter, the couple perform a little dance for your viewing pleasure.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsMadame SaharetDon MorenoFrench filmmaker Alice Guy documents a short dance performance in this hand-tinted short.
- StarsÉtienne ArnaudAlice GuyA behind the scenes look at Alice Guy Blanche directing one of her films.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsFélix MayolFelix Mayol performs in color.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsFélix MayolFélix Mayol sings in front of a stage curtain draped in the antique style and decorated with lily of the valley, the singer's favorite flower.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsFélix Mayol
- DirectorAlice GuyThe life of Jesus Christ in 25 scenes.
- DirectorAlice GuyWhen there is a prize involved, folks will do just about anything. Run an obstacle course? Of course! Madness ensues.
- DirectorAlice GuyA heavily pregnant woman has a series of irrepressible cravings while walking with her family.
- DirectorAlice GuyAn upper class lady goes to the post office and takes her maid with her to help with the stamp affixing.
- DirectorAlice GuyA soldier meets a girl on a stroll and offers to carry her basket. But when they encounter his superior officer, his superior takes over and escorts the girl, until he, in turn, runs into a higher ranking officer. And on so it goes.
- DirectorAlice GuyAlice Guy (later known as Alice Guy-Blaché) tackles the subject of bad parenting in this dramatic, tear-jerking short.
- DirectorAlice GuyAn unfortunate man has quite the tumble in a barrel.
- DirectorRomeo BosettiAlice GuyStarsRomeo BosettiComedy is benefited by originality. In this Alice Guy short, an alcoholic is inadvertently sewn in to a mattress. With that unique premise, havoc ensues.
- DirectorAlice GuyA parish priest and his parishioners can't afford the a baby Jesus for their Nativity Scene, so they pray for one and angels and the Virgin Mary appear to answers their prayers.
- DirectorAlice GuyPerhaps you're familiar with lycanthropy? More commonly known as a "werewolf" (a man that becomes a wolf), lycanthropes are a type of therianthrope. In this silent short from the early 1900s, we learn the truth about a man that becomes an ape. Evolution in reverse? Naturally, unexpected adjustments occur as "normal" folks adapt to the ape-man and vice versa.
- DirectorAlice GuyIn a society in which gender roles are switched, will men tolerate being unequal?
- DirectorAlice GuyAlice Guy films the sea and the ocean in the beginning of cinema.
- DirectorAlice GuyA young boy tries to stop a few bad men from doing bad things in Alice Guy's silent short from 1906.
- DirectorAlice GuyFor any good comedy, you generally need at least two things to set the story in motion. In this case, you have a dog and you have a sausage. The dog wants the sausage. Others want to keep the dog from the sausage. There are any number of ways this could go. However, since the dog gets the sausage at the very beginning, it means that we have a chase. THE RACE FOR THE SAUSAGE, then, is a race against the dog. Guess who wins?
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeAlice GuyTwo men attempt to mug a couple but a tramp intervenes.
- DirectorAlice GuyThis is the story of a pot of glue and the over interfering boy. Finding a pot of glue, the lad immediately proceeds to apply it to everything in sight. Accordingly, the stairway, lawn seat and a bicycle seat and handles are liberally daubed, so that those coming in contact experience much inconvenience in liberating themselves. "He who laughs last laughs best," can also be applied in this instance, as, in giving vent to his amusement, the lad falls back on to the pot and is unable to liberate himself.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeA comedy about social convention. A maid allows a soldier into the kitchen triggering, if discovered, potentially embarrassing liaisons.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeAlice GuyAn extremely clumsy man tries to clean a woman's house with disastrous results.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeAlice GuyThe library of a modern home is shown, husband, wife and child each occupied in their particular diversions. The maid is called in, who dresses the child in street garments, and the two leave the house for a stroll. Entering the park, they walk through the lanes and avenues, the little girl running ahead and skipping the rope. Finding a vacant bench, the maid takes possession and presently dozes off. The little girl playfully runs away and accidentally comes upon the scene of a "holdup," whereupon, unobserved by the footpads, she ties her rope across the passageway through which the robbers must of necessity flee. As anticipated, the robbers, in attempting to escape, trip over the rope and become entangled. In the meantime, our young heroine runs out on the public thoroughfare and gives the alarm, to which two officers respond, whom she leads to the spot, where they capture the "hold-up" men. Our little girl runs farther on, and coming to the brink of the river, observes a blind man who is about to attempt to cross an open draw of a bridge. Through herculean efforts she manipulates the mechanism of the bridge just in the nick of time, thereby saving the life of a poor blind man. The next scene shows three intoxicated men staggering down a street, oblivious to all danger. A train of cars is about to cross the street Our heroine, noticing the deathtrap into which the intoxicated men are about to stagger, runs ahead and closes the gate, thereby impeding their progress and consequently saving them, from injury and possible death. The nurse, upon waking, discovers that her charge is gone, and scurries away in search of the little girl; not finding her, she returns home and reports to the frantic parents that their child is lost. The little girl now rambles on aimlessly, and discovering her plight, tells a passing police officer that she is lost, whereupon she is brought to the headquarters, where she gives her name and address, with which information they soon notify her parents by telephone and dispatch an officer home with her. Arriving home, she is received joyously, and the scene closes, showing the little girl comically scolding the maid for her carelessness, then followed by forgiveness and embraces.
- DirectorAlice GuyA poor chap is evicted for late rent, taking with him his only possession: his rolling bed. When he stops for a nap, a crowd gathers, leading police to investigate. It all goes downhill from there.
- DirectorAlice GuyA man starts playing a piano. Neighbors hearing the music begin dancing, and are drawn to the music, dropping what they are doing to join the impromptu dance party.
- DirectorAlice GuyShort documentary of the dirigible coming out of the hangar and flying.
- DirectorAlice GuyA tumultuous time in French history affects the life of one particular man, an innocent bystander swept up in the confusion around him.
- DirectorMarquise LepageStarsAlice GuyRoberta BlachéAdrienne Blaché-ChanningThe story of forgotten silent filmmaker Alice Guy and her more than 700 films.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsAlice TissotMaurice VinotRenée CarlLegendary French director Louis Feuillade does what he does best in THE COLONEL'S ACCOUNT. What begins as the simple telling of a story erupts into chaos as the tale becomes reality. One thing leads to another. If war is hell then all hell breaks loose!
- DirectorRomeo BosettiLouis FeuilladeStarsRenée CarlA beautiful young woman walking home from visiting the shops. Causes more than enough problems for every man she passes, who stop to admire her beauty.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRenée CarlRené DaryPaul MansonJimmie is crazy to own a rifle and pesters his uncle to give him one for his birthday. Uncle indulges his little nephew and buys him a regular rifle of his heart's desire, and Jimmie proceeds to try his aim at shooting. His first practice proves quite erratic and both the large parlor mirror and chandelier suffer demolition. Father then takes an intervening hand, and after due reprimand, decides that Jimmie must only shoot outdoors. With this end in view he starts to make several targets to be placed on the garden wall. In the midst of placing glue on the rear of each target, papa is called away and Jimmie is left to complete the job. Julie comes in to surprise Jimmie, but he resents her disturbance and thoughtlessly pushes her on one of his targets. Later on Jimmie spies this target in the kitchen and little realizing its location on Julie's anatomy, takes aim and penetrates the bull's eye. This starts the comedy a rolling and up it keeps with ceaseless furor.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRené PoyenJeanne Saint-BonnetRenée CarlBout de Zan is a very precocious young man! When the circus comes to town, he does what any kid might do in this situation--he steals the circus' elephant!!! Later, he sits on the curb with the elephant and begs coins off people--with a sign saying 'blind since birth'...
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRené NavarreSuzanne GrandaisErnest BourbonAn aristocrat is taken murderous jealousy after seeing his young wife by chance in a movie with another man.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeLéonce PerretStarsSuzanne GrandaisRenée CarlRaymond LyonThe innkeeper's daughter is in love, but her mother has already decided that she is going to be married to another man. Raymond, the young woman's fiancé, is devastated. After a few expository scenes, this extremely simple plot becomes fragmented into two mirror-like flashbacks, shown in split-screen: she dreams of her past happiness with her beloved, embracing her during a boat excursion on a pond, he has a nightmare where she is seen embracing the other man. Raymond loses his mind and repudiates the innocent woman, she commits suicide.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeA prince captures a sea fairy. He falls in love with her and wants to marry her. The fairy wants to return to the sea. The prince allows her to return and then decides to follow her. They live happily ever after.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRenée CarlNadette DarsonAlice TissotSilent tableaux depicting the birth of Christ in a barn and King Herod's attempt to have him killed, following the story in the Gospel.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsJean AyméLouise LagrangeLuitz-MoratThe dissolute Emperor Heliogabalus dresses as a woman, and looses lions among his guests.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsLuitz-MoratGeorges MelchiorAlbert ReusyRetracing the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRenée CarlChristiane MandelysMaurice VinotIn the lobby of a court house, we see a family leaving the court room right after the judge has awarded custody of the child to the father. The mother is heartbroken and begs for the child, but the father is adamant that the marriage is over and the child is his. The child becomes bored living in his rich father's mansion, even though he's very well provided for. During one of the child's visits with his grandmother, the child's mother steals him away. They live in a run down apartment as the mother tries to make ends meet, but the child is happy. The father demands the police detectives to find his child. They eventually find the mother and child, but then the father must make a decision on the happiness of his child.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRenée CarlRené NavarrePaul MansonA young inventor is kidnapped to force him to tell the secret of his invention, but he foils his captors thanks to a pen with invisible ink.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsJean AyméRenée CarlHenri CollenTHE DEFECT is considerably longer than Feuillade's shorter works and significantly shorter that his better-known achievements, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. The director's efforts at realism extend to retaining moments that other filmmakers of the era would otherwise discard. Scenes begin and end without cutting on activity; the frame, occasionally, is unconventionally absent of actors. Therein, in a sense, THE DEFECT is one of the earliest "inaction" movies in the history of cinema!
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsDelphinRenée CarlSuzanne GrandaisA manuscript is mysteriously delivered to a playhouse where it is eventually turned into a major hit with critics calling it a masterpiece. The only problem is that no one knows who wrote it. The actress of the play receives a call from the author and the two quickly becomes friends but the man won't give any details about himself because he has a secret.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRenée CarlRené NavarreMiss ÉdithA wife obsesses over the fact that a fortune teller revealed husband's voyage to America is doomed, he is booked to sail on the Titanic.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsAndré BacquéAbel GanceRené d'AuchyWe first see Moliere at work in his father's shop, when a boy. All the employees are busy at their appointed tasks, except the youthful playwright, who snatches time to re-read one of his earliest efforts. The door opens and the Italian comedian, Scaramouche, enters in quest of a particular style of chair. Moliere tenders his play for perusal; but, just as Scaramouche begins to be interested, Poquelin, the father of Moliere, comes in unexpectedly and the play is hastily thrown out of sight. Again the boy poet places it in the comedian's hand, and some clever work is done by Scaramouche, as he tries to read the manuscript without being detected by the stern upholsterer. The next scene shows Moliere at the Louvre palace, where he meets Louis XIV for the first time. Here we see the scorn of the courtiers for the actor-dramatist and the consideration shown for him by the King. This scene will be remembered for the delicate beauty of the interiors shown. Next we view the stately splendor of the festival at Versailles, where hundreds of courtiers, ladies in waiting and great nobles attend on Louis XIV. The beauty of the court costumes, which set the fashion for all the royal houses in Europe at that time, and the courtly air and demeanor of every individual in the royal pageant, have been faithfully reproduced. One cannot but marvel at the excellence of the training of this vast throng, every one of whom acts his or her part as if manor-born. We must take off our hats to this Gaumont producer. As Moliere comes into the scene, the acting of the King, the courtiers and of the great actor himself, is faultless. When the King places his arm around Moliere's shoulders and walks off with him, it is a delight to watch the faces of the surprised and jealous train of followers. And when next we see Louis seated at table with Moliere, serving him with his own hands, the cup of the courtiers is full. The scene showing the distraction of Moliere over the desertion of his wife is a pathetic picture and displays talented emotional acting. Then, when she appears before finally leaving him, and we watch the play of coquetry on her witching face and note her charm of manner and grace of deportment, we do not wonder at poor Moliere's abandonment to despair. The attempt of the faithful maid servant to arouse Moliere from his apathy and melancholia is a brilliant specimen of silent acting in both roles. The last appearance of Moliere, and his first in the role of Malade, is a fine depiction of the stage of the tennis court theater and of the French manner of acting a part in the seventeenth century. Then follow his sudden illness and death.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsSuzanne GrandaisLéonce PerretÉmile KeppensA woman tells her two competing suitors she will marry the one who brings her her favourite flowers. When she reveals that these are red chrysanthemums, one of the competitors resorts to desperate measures.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsYvette AndréyorLéonce PerretMarie DorlyAn aging violinist is secretly in love with his young student. Will music be enough of a comfort to him now she is getting married?
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsValentine PetitLéonce PerretMarie DorlyA man on his way to marry the daughter of a friend of his uncle instead falls for a woman he meets on the train, despite the efforts of her censorious mother.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsEugène BréonÉmile KeppensValentine PetitLove rivalry between railway workers almost leads to tragedy.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsMarie DorlyValentine PetitA doctor on his way to save a seriously ill child gets caught in a gin trap, and amputates part of his own hand to complete his mission.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsSuzanne GrandaisÉmile KeppensLéonce PerretCount Fernand De Keramic plots against his niece in order to acquire her wealth to pay his debts.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsAdrien PetitMaurice LuguetLouis LeubasA moneylender kidnaps the young son of an rich widow as part of a plot to cheat her of her fortune. The boy is sent away on a fishing boat with the intention of drowning him, but a kindly old fisherman intervenes.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsLéonce PerretLouis LeubasMaurice LagrenéeThe young daughter of an army captain missing in action runs away from school and is kidnapped by Parisian lowlifes. When the kidnapper flees to Nice with the child, the kind-hearted employee of one of his accomplices sets off in pursuit.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsLéonce PerretSuzanne Le BretMaurice VinotLéonce is busy making a film when his wife Poupette becomes jealous after reading his fan mail. But it turns out her jealousy is misplaced.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsLéonce PerretSuzanne Le BretAlice TissotBeaten to a tasty portion of wild morel mushrooms by a determined Englishman, Léonce and Poupette sneakily substitute the mushrooms for cut-up pieces of sponge, with surprising results.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsLéon LorinMademoiselle DavrièresMarie DorlyOscar drags up to help his beloved Kiki by delivering hats for the shop where she works.
- DirectorLéonce PerretStarsLéon LorinMarie DorlyAngèle LéridaOscar courts a new girlfriend on a taxi ride around Paris, and ends up taking an unexpected bath.