Ferdinand Zecca

The extraordinary life of cinema pioneer Segundo de Chomón.

Nicole Védrèss' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

Talby is a celebrated tragedian. Among his most fervent admirers is Gaby Sombreuse. One day, Gaby meets her idol in the flesh and is... very disappointed. Talby, for his part, falls madly in love with the young woman while realizing the age gap is impassable. Six years later old age takes its toll: nobody wants Talby on the boards any more. To survive, the old thespian has no other choice but to become a clown in a small circus.

Mude movie from France

An honest worker is made redundant, but he will solve his problems by marrying the employer's daughter.

An honest worker is made redundant, but he will solve his problems by marrying the employer's daughter.

Charles Prince, his gift of a posy spurned in favor of a rival's expensive ring, goes to enlist in the Balkan Wars. Sort of. That is, he goes to Pathe Freres and talks them into making a movie about him enlisting (and fighting) in the Balkans. That'll teach her!

Jean Clédat, a young sculptor, has fallen in love with Gabrielle Normand, a painter. Jean's father, who expected him to perform his art in his native town, is surprised not to see him come back after his studies at the Fine Arts Academy, all the more as Marie-Claire, his kind-hearted fiancée, is waiting for him at home. Suspecting a love affair, Clédat Senior comes to visit Jean out of the blue. Not only are his suspicions confirmed but they are even reinforced when he catches sight of a doll in his son's studio. After telling Gabrielle that he will provide maintenance for the "child", he forces his son son to go back home. The only thing is that he is making a mistake : there IS a four-year-old girl, but she is Gabrielle's little sister, not her daughter...

Maxime Vermont tries to get a financial help from his father-in-law, to no avail. Deeply indebted, Maxime attempts to kill his father-in-law so that he could make quick money.

Apparently inspired by the antics of Harry Houdini, Slippery Jim opens in the office of a police commissioner to whom a rather cocky villain is presented. The commissioner orders the prisoner to be clapped in irons, but this proves to be easier said than done because our anti-hero - presumably the Slippery Jim of the title - proves to be an expert escapologist.

Short film set in ancient Egypt.

Short directed by Henri Andréani and Ferdinand Zecca.

In this interesting picture we are given a vivid idea of the principal incidents connected with the Dreyfus case, which caused such a stir in military circles in the year of 1894. Alfred Dreyfus, an officer on the general staff, was charged with selling secrets to a foreign power. He was tried and judged guilty on flimsy evidence, and sentenced to imprisonment on Devil's Island, where he remained for eight years, until his influential friends, who took up his case in earnest, proved it was a plot formed by other officers, who subsequently confessed to having forged the documents.

Segundo de Chomón's remake of Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon.

A talented youth has compounded a wonderful fluid, a little of which he applies to the mirror in his room, and when he looks into it his image comes to life and comes out of the frame and imitates his every action. As soon as he rubs the fluid off the mirror his double disappears. When the servant come in, a little of the fluid is again rubbed on the mirror, and he has the same experience, his reflection stepping out and doing stunts, thereby scaring the poor fellow almost to death. The inventor of the fluid then takes the mirror with him and goes out on the street.

Captivated by a vision of beckoning women, a man dives into the ocean, and soon finds himself walking on the ocean floor. After encountering numerous sea creatures, he comes to a giant oyster. When the oyster is opened, a strange adventure begins for the diver.

Max causes havoc when he joins other skaters on a frozen lake.

Behind the elderly husband's back, the lovers kiss and go off together. But is he unaware of their actions. No! So she swears that her husband is mad and as I'mm locked away in a padded cell. That, however, will not end the matter.

This is a compact telling of the Cinderella fairy tale and the film is elaborately staged.

A policeman spots a dog stealing a piece of meat from a butcher's shop, and gives chase. Soon several more policemen have joined the pursuit. But the chase does not turn out as the policemen expect.

Stencil-coloured version of Segundo de Chomón's Les roses magiques (1906).

A demonic magician attempts to perform his act in a strange grotto, but is confronted by a Good Spirit who opposes him.

A woman loses her only child. She turns to drink and begins to hallucinate an image of her beloved child.

A delightful and typical farce film, ending with the usual Gallic chase.

Three young children set up a table, and on the table is placed a miniature stage. The stage curtain opens, a carpet appears, and then the carpet unrolls by itself. Two puppet figures then come out and begin to perform a series of routines.

A fisherman's dreams come through in sentcilcolor, featuring deep sea fairies, puppet seahorses, a bug-eyed octopus, and a colossal starfish. Zecca was Pathé's response to Melies.

Rendez-vous of Apaches. Bonneteur and pickpocket. Theft at the scramble. Reticle shooter. Shoplifting. Pepper stripper. The coup of Father François. Murderous burglars. The cellar of Les Halles. The roundup.

A young woman receives a message, and hurriedly leaves home. But the message was a trick to lure her into a trap, where she is assaulted and killed. When her body is found floating in the river, it is brought to her father. Once he realizes what has been done to his daughter, the father immediately sets out in an effort to extract vengeance.

A trick film using the reverse effect.

Two men get into a knife fight, in a possibly Spanish tavern, and and one of them kills another and escapes. He takes refuge in his house but escapes when the guard arrives, starting a persecution to the death.

A man is chased by ten women!

A father and son are working in a coal mine. An explosion occurs, which kills the son.

A drunk staggers into his apartment and falls asleep. He dreams he climbs to the top of a building and flies to the moon, then falls back to earth. When he wakes, still drunk, he is in his apartment.

A drunk staggers into his apartment and falls asleep. He dreams he climbs to the top of a building and flies to the moon, then falls back to earth. When he wakes, still drunk, he is in his apartment.

A tramp who unwittingly starts a fire is chased by a mob of peasants.

Short film by Pathé frères released in 1905

A man kills a wealthy miser - frugal fellow, I like to think - and buries his corpse under a haystack. The murderer is haunted by the ghost of his victim....or is it his own conscience?

At an island penal institution, new prisoners are brought in one-by-one, and introduced to the harsh realities of prison life. They are put in fetters, sent to perform hard physical labor, and treated brutally. One convict manages to cut through the bars on his cell window. He climbs out, steals a boat, and begins a desperate attempt to escape from the island.

A man walks down to the water's edge, takes off his clothes and prepares to go for a swim.... only to find himself fully clothed. This happens again and again.

The Clever Baker, shows a not so clever baker baking.

To the modern viewer, it may seem peculiar that there are several movies in which a man sneaks a kiss off a young woman in a darkened railway car, all produced in the first few years of the motion picture.

To the modern viewer, it may seem peculiar that there are several movies in which a man sneaks a kiss off a young woman in a darkened railway car, all produced in the first few years of the motion picture.

During a strike, several workers are killed in a confrontation. The wife of one of them kills the factory owner. At her trial, the owner's son asks for mercy, knowing that his father was wrong. Because of that the wife is freed.

A man with some sense of intestinal urgency needs to find the right door at a railroad station. He chooses... the wrong door.

A comedic short about taking unpleasant medicine.

An early Pathé version of Don Quixote told in 15 chapters.

The story of Jesus Christ, from the proclamation of his Nativity to his Ascension into heaven. Impressive staging and beautiful hand-coloring distinguish the film from its Passion-play counterparts; Its scale and dynamic crowds prelude the Italian epics to come.

A 8-chapter ("tableaux") short film that tells the story of a gambler who ends his life on the guillotine.

A 8-chapter ("tableaux") short film that tells the story of a gambler who ends his life on the guillotine.

Early silent adaptation of the fairy-tale Puss In Boots.

Jesus is forced to carry the cross along the path, but his weakness causes him to sink under the weight of the cross. Simon of Cyrene helps him, the soldiers hit and kick them.

Jesus appears, the doctors and sages who were engaged in a discussion listen to him amazed by his words of wisdom.

To fill their jars with water, a group of women gathered around the well. At one point comes Samaria, a woman known for her bad temper. Jesus appears and grants her forgiveness for her sins.

Jesus is brought before him again, Pontius Pilate washes his hands to show that he has no responsibility in the death of this man and hands him over to the crowd.

A thief named Barabbas and Jesus are brought before Pilate, Pilate says Christ innocent. People say "Crucify him and deliver us Barabbas!"

Jesus enters the temple while the merchants are selling their wares. Jesus overturns the tables of the money lenders by showing them their error.

An angel appears to Jesus, who comforts him while he is in the garden of olives and is praying for the strength to do the will of the Father.

A hapless man tries to get undressed only to find himself magically layered in even more clothes.

The opening of this remarkable and mysterious film brings into view a scene in a parlor, with two servants discussing the easiest way to hang four pictures which are leaning against the wall on the floor. The artful butler suggests to the pretty parlor-maid that she should hang the pictures from the step-ladder which he hastens to secure from an adjoining room. In the meantime the maid mysteriously proceeds to hang the pictures herself by walking up the side of the wall, and after accomplishing this strange feat turns a somersault from the wall into a chair.

This picture describes the well-known biblical story of Samson and Delila. The picture commences with Samson's visit to Gaza, a city of the Philistines. While there they closed the gates upon him and set watchmen to defend them, intending to put him to death on the following day. Samson slept until midnight, and then arose. Upon reaching the gates, he slew the watchman, pulled down the gates and carried them to the top of an adjoining hill, where he left them to the confusion and disappointment of the Philistines. After many feats of this kind, Samson permitted himself to become infatuated with a treacherous woman among the Philistines, named Delila. He revealed to her that the secret of his strength lay in the fact that, being a Nazarite, he never had cut his hair. After hearing this, she waited until Samson was asleep, and then having cut off his seven locks, called out that the Philistines were coming.

Reproduction of the terrible catastrophe which annihilated the town of St. Peter on May 8, 1902.

Old gentleman stretches himself on the long seat of a French railway car, after placing numerous bundles in the rack above him, and also in the rack over the seat in the opposite side of the compartment. Train stops at next station and lady enters with her pet dog. Having bundles of her own which she wishes to place in the rack over her seat, she takes down the old man's bundles and places them on him and his seat. She then begins to fondle the dog. Old man gets angry, takes his large pipe and begins to smoke. Lady objects and after an argument snatches the pipe from the man and throws it out the window. The man reciprocates by throwing the dog out. Lady enraged, tugs vigorously at the bell rope. Train stops and scene changes to outside. Behold the dog sitting on his haunches with the pipe in his mouth, much to the surprise of the old gentleman and lady, and also the audience.

An early hand-tinted adaptation of Ali Baba.

It is winter and a couple invites an old woman to eat. The old woman then becomes a fairy and makes the spring appears.

An opium smoker intoxicated by this poison, falls asleep and dreams that he is in prison.

A happy family is brought to ruin when the father starts drinking.

A happy family is brought to ruin when the father starts drinking.

A magician performs tricks with a chicken and eggs.

A magician performs tricks with a chicken and eggs.

A man encounters fairies.

This is a short, simple ballet performance. Colors are used here, but the print is quite badly damaged.

A political quarrel between two men that ends in laughter.

An oppressive droning score makes this rendering of the Faust legend quite disturbing to watch. The film itself consists of a number of impressive ‘appearing out of thin air’ effects, some lavish costumes, sets and backdrops. A climactic sword fight between a man and the Devil is a standout scene.

Some naughty scenes from a balcony.

As a janitor is cleaning a hotel, he decides to peek through the keyholes to observe some of the guests in their rooms. In room 8, a woman is busy making herself look more attractive, and the janitor enjoys watching her. There are also some interesting things going on in the other rooms on the floor.

Using a blue tint to set the scene under the sea, this is a short, surprisingly violent film where two divers fight to the death with axes over some treasure beneath the waves.

A convicted criminal dreams about his past the night before his execution.

A convicted criminal dreams about his past the night before his execution.

An adaptation of the biblical story.

A man flies his plane "Fend l'Air" over Paris.

A man flies his plane "Fend l'Air" over Paris.

Silent film.

Silent film

Silent film

On the theater stage, a magician makes appear and disappear his partners

A well-dressed, middle-aged man is enjoying a drink at a table with a pretty young woman. He flirts with her, and she seems not to mind his attentions. But is it all too good to be true?

Backward facing camera stunt story of a man coming out of the water.