Gaumont: Le cinema premier - Volume 2 (1907-1916)
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127 titles
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe first all-animated film in history, a series of scenes without much narrative structure, but morphing into each other.
- DirectorÉtienne ArnaudÉmile CohlStarsRenée CarlMaurice VinotThe misadventures of a guest in an automatic hotel.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe same mysterious ring of Émile Cohl's THE MAGIC HOOP reappears here to bring to life a case of toy soldiers (ninety years ahead of TOY STORY). When one is left behind, a strange course of events leads him to a distant tribe. THE LITTLE SOLDIER WHO BECAME A GOD is easily one of the most surreal of Cohl's live action/stop motion hybrids. This film features actors performing in blackface. Fandor does not condone racist stereotyping, but blackface is nonetheless a significant aspect of American history in general and film history specifically. Early cinema was deeply rooted in vaudeville, where blackface was a popular staple. As film critic Ty Burr wrote in a recent assessment of Al Jolson's THE JAZZ SINGER, "Minstrelsy was the then-accepted cultural mechanism by which the governing white culture could appropriate and tame various representations of black people." The history of blackface is complex (even African American performers donned burnt cork to appear onstage in the early 1900s), and its legacy is far from being resolved. While blackface iconography appears offensive today, it remains deeply telling of the culture from which it emerged.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA magician gives a young girl a magic hoop which, when mounted on a wall, displays fantastic images.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA cast of stick figures plays out a series of comic vignettes.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe nightmare of Émile Cohl's chalk animation is one of unreliable appearances. Fishermen catch fish which eat them whole. Ladders transform into coils which just as suddenly take the form of angry mustachioed soldiers. The human figure at the receiving end of these transmogrifications is subject to all manner of degradations. Genuinely unsettling, THE PUPPET'S NIGHTMARE anticipates Don Hertzfeldt's stick-figure fantasias by a century.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA showman invites patrons to step up to his Kinetoscope-style magic box and glimpse the answers to their most burning questions. Émile Cohl's irreverent animation takes over from here, painting less than flattering portraits of futures in marriage and business. The only satisfied customer is the one who asks the right question.
- DirectorÉtienne ArnaudÉmile CohlThis subject portrays in a vivid manner the operations of a puppet in his efforts to see the sights. Many very entertaining and novel productions of magic.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThis subject presents n remarkably clever series of illusions in which a Japanese lantern, several dolls, chickens, mice and grasshoppers play a very prominent part. Mystifying and highly entertaining throughout and of perfect photographic quality.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA scientist is studying microbes under a microscope when his friend enters the room. He explains all the microbes that his friend is infected with.
- DirectorÉtienne ArnaudÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉtienne ArnaudÉmile CohlA delightfully pleasing and beautifully hand-colored series of panoramic views, giving the history of the fan. A large ostrich feather fan opens and closes alternately, showing each time a different scene and the various styles of fans in use throughout ages and by many peoples. Scenes illustrated are: Adam and Eve, The Egyptians, The Greeks, Romans, Sixteenth Century, Modern Use.
- DirectorÉtienne ArnaudÉmile CohlTwo lovers perform a fandango dance. A jealous quarrel follows and the heart-broken swain decides to end it all. He throws himself from the window of his room, but instead of being killed the anchor of a passing balloon intercepts his flight and he is taken up high into the clouds. Laughing at the poor, unfortunate mortal, the moon arouses the anger of the desperate lover and a battle between the two ensues. The moon seems to get the worst of it and a comet appears, transforming into a beautiful woman, who remonstrates with him for the trouble caused. The moon enters a complaint against her antagonist and three stars sit as judges to hear the case. The legal battle is terminated in favor of the lover. He, however, implores the pardon of the court and is discharged, whereupon he drops down to earth into the arms of his sweetheart, who is glad to see him.
- DirectorÉmile CohlTwo nosy neighbors who drill a hole through their wall to spy on the canoodling couple next door get more than they bargained for when the man discovers their plan and casts a magic spell. So-called "Father of the Animated Cartoon" Emile Cohl's blend of live action, stop-motion and hand-drawn animation offers the kind of delightful fantasy common in early French cinema mixed with some gentle comedy. - Marilyn Ferdinand
- DirectorÉmile CohlStarsRenée CarlAlice TissotGeorges WagueFramed in a wreath of roses we see a lithe Creek dancer, who sways and postures before an epicurean party of ancients, followed by a laurel wreath and encircling a scene showing school children of 1830 receiving their marks of diligence at a distribution of rewards: then the wreath of bay tendered by the Human Senators to Caesar on the culmination of his career; now a beggar receives a loaf called a "crown" from a charitable passerby: Christ is shown crowned with thorns by the rabble; following the divine drama we see the old comedian's wreath presented him at a performance. The next view shows the Emperor Charlemagne crowning his son Lewis. The film closes with the wreath of orange blossoms encircling a bridal party.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA beguiling cycle of variations on the titular theme. Crowns of every type for every situation!
- DirectorÉmile CohlMonsieur Clown struggles to keep the circus animals in line in this characteristically agile Émile Cohl stop-motion short.
- DirectorÉmile CohlSeveral unique specimens of highly ornamented porcelain are shown in series. In each case the various pieces of ware are in reality formed of living people. After a short time has been allowed for admiration of each article, it disintegrates into the individual models, who pose in various figures and dances. In the following pictures are seen a powder box, a clock, candle sticks, a loving cup and a vase, all of wonderfully ornate design, beautifully colored.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA short film looking at women's fashion through the ages.
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn old and learned doctor discovers the secret of spontaneous generation and makes a microscopic germ which in its growth gives birth to the following people who dissolve into one another and into other shapes with startling mystery: A girl, after passing through numerous forms, becomes a ferocious doorkeeper. He in turn evolves into a sheriff's officer, who changes to a fisherman of great weight, whose evolution forms a collector and a policeman, who in turn dissolve into a series of designs.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlGrandfather gets a pair of magic spectacles, which he claims to possess the miraculous power of showing the tastes and inclinations of the person who puts them on. There are present at the time a large family gathering, father, mother, sons and daughters, and grandchildren, and each member of the party in turn puts on the spectacles. Then we see on the curtain all that is passing in the mind of the wearer clearly portrayed in each eye, just as if we were looking through opera glasses.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA near-abstract animation telling a simple romantic story through drawings almost entirely composed of heart shapes.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThere have been numerous studies of plants and flowers presented to the public, but none which exhibit the perfection of stereoscopic detail. The various plants have been photographed against black backgrounds and are carefully colored. In addition, the various groups were made to revolve during the time of exposure and thus show a succession of lights and shadows which produces the relief which adds so greatly to a picture.
- DirectorÉmile CohlShort film that is a mixture of live-action and animation. A clown comes upon a stage and presents a projector-like device that throws animated objects on the wall. Several animated faces and the likes are shown.
- DirectorÉmile CohlStarsAlphonsine MaryA young girl dreams her teddy bear comes to life.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA lighthearted animated history of transport.
- DirectorÉmile CohlFour customers are having a peaceful game of cards in a quiet café. The atmosphere bring heavy, the waiter falls asleep and has a beautiful dream in which two angels come and play to him on violins, with such charm that he is transported to the seventh heaven. The dream changes, and we see him going through many amusing and fantastic scenes. Finally, customers annoyed by his snores, wake him by pouring seltzer over him.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe film presents a drawing room meeting of enthusiastic puzzle workers. One gentleman has a new way of solving his puzzle. He puts a handkerchief over the game and immediately the picture is made. Under the handkerchief, we see how, piece by piece, it is put into one finished picture. His success makes him an object of envy, however, and the gentleman meets with considerable trouble before the party is over.
- DirectorRomeo BosettiÉmile CohlA film of more than unusual interest. Those who are familiar with the length of time it takes to make a picture wherein oil the furniture in the house moves out automatically, will appreciate the great labor of making this film.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlStarsMaurice VinotAlice Tissot1. Hercules discovers an excellent method of tanning the skin of the Nemean lion. 2. Without effort he cuts off the seven heads of the Lerneau hydra. E. With equal ease he captures the wild boar of Erymanthus. 4. He checks in dexterous manner the flight of the golden-horned and heaven-hoofed deer of Manale. 5. When the fantastic birds of the Stymphalian Lake play tricks upon him, he quells them with one movement of his hand. 6. Now he destroys the terrible Amazon troop and takes their queen, Hippolyte, prisoner; when he begins to fall in love with her she escapes and goes to the infernal regions. 7. He forces the river Alpheus to give all her water to clean Augeas' stables. 8. In the meanwhile he has an encounter with the Cretan bull, subsequently killed by Theseus at Marathon. 9. As the wicked king Diomedes is in the habit of giving his visitors to his horses for food, Hercules forces these noble steeds to taste their own master's flesh. 10. Hercules, not at all troubled by the three bodies of the giant Geryones, gives them a bad quarter of an hour. 11. Relieving Atlas for a moment of the burden of the Heavens, Hercules persuades him to cast down the golden apples of Hesperides and appropriates them for his own. 12. At last Hercules finds a way of recapturing Queen Hippolyte, by bribing with sausages Cerberus, the dog on guard at her cave, and makes her his wife.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe events that transpire in the drama are too well known to require reiteration here. All showmen and most auditors are familiar with the story. This makes the burlesque possible, for without a common knowledge of the original drama a portion of the comedy would be lost. The various parts are played by puppets in the hands of clever and careful operators.
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn artist tries to sell some canvases to a client, each of which appears to be covered in a single colour -- until you take a closer look.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe opening scene is in a tailor's shop, showing the four assistants more or less in love with their employer's daughter. After some time, the tailor says he will give his daughter to the one who shows himself to be the cleverest. Some very amusing incidents follow. In keen competition we see them all trying to perform the most difficult tasks, in order to win the much-cherished reward. They attempt to sew without thread, and without a needle, and also to sew the wing of a fly. The last man, however, fulfills the desired tasks, and is duly accepted by the daughter. The various feats accomplished during the contest are clever examples of trick photography. The sewing without thread and without needle are both shown greatly magnified. "The man who leaves fancy devices and useless tricks alone, sticking to his trade, wins the bride," is the moral tacked to this story.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlA salesman pursuing a potential client takes tenacity to new heights, and depths.
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn animated look at the changing shape of hats through the ages.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlStarsRené DaryA child is seen painting. An elegantly dressed man comes in, and Bebe does three drawings for him (shown through animation). The film ends with portraits of world leaders, with their flags and the motto "Pax" (Peace.)
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn eccentric couple play a variety of unlikely musical instruments, prompting an animated sequence in which human characters metamorphose into instruments.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA doctor has an unusual method of examining someone's brains.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe character is changing shape in this primitive animation.
- DirectorÉmile CohlStarsLucien Cazalis
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn animated stick man has a series of unlikely adventures, taking a trip in a balloon, being swallowed by a giant fish and menaced by a magic pig.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlAnd now our funny little friend, Snookums, has started real trouble for his poor Dada. A few of the neighbors and Dada were having a nice quiet little game when the door-bell rang and when Snookums' beautiful mother went to the door, she found the minister. Well, the "gang" made a hurried attempt to hide things, and the chips, cards, etc., were stuffed under the couch, before the Reverend Sir was admitted. Dada and his friends then tried to keep the minister's attention concentrated on other things, and planned to get rid of him before he suspected anything. But poor little Snookums was rather inquisitive about this hurried hiding of those nice little chips and so he secured the minister's hat and proceeded to dig out the chips from under the couch and fill the hat with them. When the minister finally decided to go, to the great relief of everyone, the big scandal came out. When he lifted his high hat to place it on his head, there was a shower of little white, blue and red "chips" that told their own story.
- DirectorÉmile CohlA witch, upset with a man who yelled at her, places a curse on his box of matches that turns him into a skeleton.
- DirectorÉmile CohlSo then we shall have a portrait of boo'ful Snookums. Muvver says he's like dada. Dada says he's like muvver. Both agree he's the prettiest baby ever and should have a portrait painted. A famous painter is engaged. He is happy to paint their darling, but "Come, kitty, kitty, kitty." Snookums doesn't want a picture; he wants to pull its 'ittle tail. Snookums cries. They are distracted. A wild hunt for the elusive kitten takes place. The famous painter scrambles around under beds and bureaus and finally gets Snookums the kitten, but Snookums gets his goat. A battle royal between the most wonderful baby and its latest prize, and again a kitten hunt is in order. Another moment and the doting parents find themselves and their Snookums politely dismissed. Next moment the painter collapses in the arms of sympathetic friends and relates the indignities Snookums would heap on his exalted head.
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn aging palmist decides she should marry her next client, and persuades him to let her read the soles of his feet.
- DirectorÉmile Cohl
- DirectorÉmile CohlAn eccentric criminal trio make a series of unlikely escapes from the attentions of a hapless detective.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe stick man Fantoche is looking for a home, but there doesn't seem to be any room anywhere, not even in Hell.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsClément MégéGaston ModotThe guests have gathered for a baptism, but the child wanders off to a bike shop next door, grabs a bike, and takes off. The adults grab bikes and clumsily give chase. The child wheels on unscathed, but the adults cause mayhem.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonBerthe DagmarGaston ModotA man sells a supposed Rembrandt to a married couple in a bar but an Englishwoman sits on top of the painting and the image sticks to her skirt.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsBruninBerthe DagmarMarie DorlyPoor Eugénie! She's humpbacked and everyone wants to straighten her out, but when success finally comes, she's too tall not to cause disasters. To solve the problem, the help of a sword swallower is urgently needed.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsClément MégéJoë HammanErnest Bourbon
- DirectorJean DurandStarsLucien Bataille
- DirectorJean DurandStarsClément MégéGaston ModotCalino goes politely around to three or four people from the bourgeois class, trying to sell them a lightning rod: but due to a factory defect, the apparatus attracts lightning instead of driving it away.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsLucien BatailleErnest BourbonÉdouard GrisolletThe hapless Zigoto is sent by a plumber to sort out a gas leak, with predictably disastrous results.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsClément MégéBerthe DagmarÉdouard GrisolletOne day, Calino has the bold and imprudent idea to follow a woman down the street. The woman leads him all the way to the traveling lion cage run by her husband. To avoid her husband's jealous anger, the woman introduces Calino as an apprentice lion tamer. Unassured, Calino has to enter the cage, but his fear is so intense that he forgets to shut the door behind him.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsLucien BatailleBerthe DagmarGaston Modot
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonGaston ModotIn pursuit of the conventional chase theme, Durand always tries to renew his methods. He never settles for showing a clumsy guy being chased by his victims. The rugby players from 'Le Match Oxford contre Martigues' continue playing the game throughout the city streets.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonRaymond AimosGaston Modot
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonRaymond AimosBerthe DagmarThe hapless Onésime stumbles on a baby, and just can't seem to get rid of it, no matter how hard (and violently) he tries.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsLucien BatailleBerthe DagmarÉdouard GrisolletZigoto and his bride are so enamored of each other that they ignore everything and everyone around them. They are visited by three of Zigoto's friends who end up getting in a fight and causing massive destruction.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsLucien BatailleBerthe DagmarÉdouard GrisolletFor some time now, Sosthène, clerk at the Grand Laundromat of Papillon-sous-Bois, has been in love with Alphonsine, the girl who brings the laundry. One evening, he decides to win the heart of his beloved, who until now has been cruel and deaf to his fiery declarations, and if necessary, he'll kidnap her. Hidden at the edge of the woods, when Alphonsine goes by, Sosthène rolls through the grass until he lands at the beauty's feet, proclaiming his love in a deranged voice: "Be mine, or die!", "You idiot!". Blood rushes to Sosthène's head. His breath becomes so ragged that it can be heard a mile away, catching the attention of the famous detective Zigoto who was walking Bouboule, his no less famous police dog.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonGaston ModotDissolute drinker Onésime signs a deal with the Devil to pay his bar tab, and finds himself in a rather peculiar version of Hell.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsClément MégéBerthe DagmarMarie DorlyCalino is left in charge of a railway station, with predictably disastrous consequences.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonRaymond AimosBerthe DagmarThe only way Onésime could think of to get his inheritance quicker was to set the clocks forward. Surprise: the whole world starts speeding up wildly.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonÉdouard GrisolletGaston ModotHis double behaves very badly (he pinches the maid's behind), while the real Onésime suffers the consequences.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonÉdouard GrisolletGaston ModotIn his pursuit of a young female student, Onésime finds himself at a university hospital receiving the unwelcome attentions of overenthusiastic dentists and surgeons.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonMademoiselle DavrièresÉdouard GrisolletUsers of the postal service aren't very happy that Onésime spends his work time writing love letters to a lovely lady. Understandably, the woman's husband doesn't take it very well either. To escape his wrath, Onésime can think of nothing better than slipping into the mail duct. And it's pneumatic.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonClément MégéBerthe DagmarDifficulties ensue when Calino and Onésime get married on the same day, in the same registry office.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonClément MégéMademoiselle DavrièresCalino's uncle leaves him an inheritance, but only if he can uncover it hidden in his uncle's house. Detective Onésime is called in to help, and is soon tangling with some criminals after the treasure too.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonGaston ModotLooking after his aunt and uncle's house when they're away, animal lover Onésime turns it into a hospital for sick animals.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonGaston ModotBill becomes enamored of a girl and sends a messenger to her on a motorcycle. The messenger knocks down people and furniture on the way in the usual eccentric manner.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonBerthe DagmarMademoiselle DavrièresAn eccentric actor is in a peck of trouble over a girl. Falling furniture and a final resting place in the dump heap are features of this, which brings considerable laughter.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonÉdouard GrisolletGaston ModotTo get away from his shrewish wife, Onesime fakes his own drowning. But the "widow" hires a shady detective to find out if he is alive.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonGaston ModotMuch to his annoyance, Onésime's relatives arrive to stay with him, and the family resemblance is striking.
- DirectorRomeo BosettiStarsSarah Duhamel
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanGaston ModotBerthe DagmarThree friends on their way to deliver a payroll stop for a few drinks. Two of them decide to stay for a while, but the third sets out to deliver the payroll by himself. When he never shows up, one of the friends who stayed behind is arrested for his murder and sentenced to hang.
- DirectorJean DurandAlice GuyStarsLucien BatailleErnest Bourbon
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanGaston ModotBerthe Dagmar
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanGaston ModotBerthe Dagmar
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanGaston ModotBerthe DagmarThe wealthy Maude Baker has many suitors, but she spurns them all until Arizona Bill comes to work at her uncle's ranch. They fall in love, but her uncle disapproves of the match and tries to interfere.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanMax DhartignyErnest BourbonWhen gold is discovered the first man there gets to stake his claim. Joe and another man race each other, which involves a thrilling episode on a train.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsLucien BatailleErnest BourbonAlphonse FoucherZigoto acrobatically drives a locomotive gone haywire, which runs through the city causing frenzied bedlam. One of Durand's burlesque masterpieces.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanBerthe DagmarGaston ModotAn Indian maiden wishes to marry her lover, but her father refuses because he does not have the requisite bride price. This is an Indian love story shot on location in the Camargues.
- DirectorJean DurandStarsJoë HammanGaston ModotBerthe Dagmar
- DirectorJean DurandMen in a village practice for a bullfight, the bulls are run through tow, and the men fight and taut the bulls before a crowd
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonGaston Modot
- DirectorJean DurandStarsErnest BourbonBerthe DagmarÉdouard GrisolletWhile accompanying his lady to a fashionable casino, Onésime hears someone playing an overpowering waltz on a mandolin, and he starts dancing with his lady. Everyone, from the kitchen hands to the chef, dance until their out of breath. Even the dogs are swept away by the rhythm.
- DirectorRomeo BosettiThe exploits of a policeman who literally has the long arm of the law.