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).