All Films - Short Movie Database

Cairo, Artillery Parade

1897 • 1 min • France

An artillery parade in Cairo near Cairo Citadel filmed by Alexandre Promio for the Lumière Brothers. Original title was "Défilé de l’artillerie turque"

The Devil's Laboratory

1897 • 3 min • France

"The picture shows the Devil working at a fire. Two cavaliers appear, and the Devil takes the form of a seer, old, bent and wrinkled. Then he disappears in a cloud of smoke, to reappear shortly as a ghost, whose head comes off and floats around the room. Suddenly the table gets up of itself, and flies up the chimney. All sorts of wonderful things happen. A cannon takes the place occupied by the table, and belches forth flame and smoke. A large cage appears mysteriously in the center of the room, through the bars of which the Devil passes as if it were an open door. By his magic, he makes the cavalier pass through the bars in the same wonderful fashion. Everything is so weird and fantastic, that such a small trifle as a man turning into a donkey excites but passing notice." -Edison catalog

The X-Ray Fiend

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

A romantic couple are transformed into skeletons via X-Rays. The film combines two very recent innovations: Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895, and Georges Méliès' accidental realisation of the special-effects potential of the jump-cut in 1896.

Naval Combat in Greece

1897 • 1 min • France

An officer calls his sailors to the deck. They assemble around the canon while the officer scans the horizon. They all turn in the direction of the camera to look in the distance. At the same time the ship is hit! This scene is a filmed reconstruction of the 1897 Greek-Turkish war.

Bois de Boulogne

1897 • 1 min • France

A street scene.

Départ de Dunmurry

1897 • 1 min • France

The Hallucinated Alchemist

1897 • 2 min • France

The Flicker Alley DVD "Georges Méliès: Encore New Discoveries (1896-1911)" misidentified a partial hand-colored print of the 1906 film "Alchimiste Parafaragaramus ou La cornue infernale" (The Mysterious Retort) as this film, "L'hallucination de l'alchimiste" (An Hallucinated Alchemist) from 1897, which continues to be considered a lost film.

Brighton Seagoing Electric Car

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

A view taken from Brighton beach on the Channel coast of the transit of Magnus Volk’s amazing seagoing electric railway, long celebrated as one of the world’s more bizarre railway experiments. All aboard for “A Sea Voyage on Wheels!"

Between Calais and Dover

1897 • 1 min • France

A rocky sea voyage as reenacted by Georges Méliès.

The Surrender of Tournavos

1897 • 1 min • France

Three military men, seen inside a fortification, are firing on an unseen enemy force. The call for reinforcements but ladders appear signalling the enemy is about to overrun this position.

Les Aïnos à Ueso, [I]

1897 • 1 min • France

Four Ainu men, performing a traditional dance, somewhere near Muroran, Hokkaido.

Panorama de la ville pris d’un bateau

1897 • 1 min • France

The Miller and the Sweep

1897 • 1 min • United Kingdom

In front of a flour mill, two men fight. One is the miller, and he's swinging a bag of flour in the scuffle. The other is a chimney sweep, and he's swinging what may be a bag of flour, but when it breaks open, it's clearly something else. Well into the havoc, spectators gather and give chase to the flour-covered sweep and the "well-sooted" miller.

The Bewitched Inn

1897 • 2 min • France

A weary traveler stops at an inn along the way to get a good night's sleep, but his rest is interrupted by odd happenings when he gets to his room--beds vanishing and re-appearing, candles exploding, pants flying through the air and his shoes walking away by themselves.

The Last Cartridges

1897 • 1 min • France

An incident of the Franco-Prussian War. It shows the bombardment of a house at Bazeille. It is the animated reproduction of de Neuville's celebrated painting.

Ronde enfantine

1897 • 1 min • France

A group of four children, circle dancing.

Bruxelles, la bourse

1897 • 1 min • France

A shot of traffic in front of Palais de la Bourse, Bruxelles.

Leaving Jerusalem by Railway

1897 • 1 min • France, Palestinian Territory

Lasting for roughly 50 seconds, it shows the goodbyes of many passersby - first Europeans, then Palestinian Arabs, then Palestinian Jews - as a train leaves Jerusalem.

Death of Marat

1897 • 1 min • France

This early film made by Georges Hatot for the Lumière Company is a brief single shot-scene of the assassination of the French revolutionary writer, Jean-Paul Marat--who has the notorious distinction of having influenced the Reign of Terror.