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French comedy films from the 1900s
The best 100 of 134
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A Trip to the Moon
Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the
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Fantasmagorie
An animated film by French auteur Émile Cohl, one of the earliest examples of hand-drawn film animation. Drawing inspiration from J. Stuart Blackton and the Incoherents of club Hydropathes, the film, with all its wild transformations, sees our protagonist materialize a movie theatre, meet an elephant and escape from jail; A morphing, stream-of-consciousness delight.
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The Diabolic Tenant
A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.
- 5
The Melomaniac
The leader of a marching band demonstrates an unusual way of writing music.
- 6
Drama at the Puppets' House
For a short comedy of rare merit this subject is unexcelled. A chalk line series of grotesque caricatures enacted in the land of puppets. A fickle maiden gets herself into numerous embarrassing complications with her host of admirers, but the artist with lightning rapidity overcomes all obstacles and brings the maiden out victorious.
- 7
Elastic Transformation
A woman enters a room with a man. She creates a duplicate of him and changes his personality by throwing his clothes from one man to the next.
- 8
The Bewitched Shepherd
A young peasant leaves his cottage after a quarrel with his wife, and meets a witch. She takes him to a cavern, where after a series of encounters with goblins and other elusive creatures, he is presented with a choice of beautiful women of various races. Finally the witch makes his wife appear.
- 9
Voyage autour d’une étoile
An old astronomer has been transfixed by a star for a long time. He had but one thought: to travel to it, to declare his love for it! But how? A simple but ingenious solution-- A giant bubble. Velle remade the film for Italian studio Cines in the same year.
- 10
Whimsical People
A moon-woman shakes a Pierot costume and manifests a Pierot clown. She does this four more until there are five Pierots crowded on the ledge of the moon. They fall to the earth and dance like tops turning one by one into Columbine maidens.
- 11
Magnetized Man
A midsummer Phantasy. The man having been attacked by footpads, puts on a suit of medieval armor which has been magnetized at a dynamo by two boys. Every metallic article which he approaches flies to him, to the great consternation of many people.
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The Skipping Cheese
The interior of a trolley car. A menagerie of passengers notices a foul odour, and pinpoint the source of the stench at a cheese saleswoman. The gendarmerie removes her from the trolley and drags her to the precinct.
- 14
Spanish Clair de Lune
Two 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 falling to his death, the anchor of a passing balloon intercepts his flight and he is taken high into the clouds. Laughing at his plight, the moon arouses the anger of the desperate lover and a battle between the two ensues.
- 15
Diabolical Pickpocket
A pickpocket manages to escape the police through a series of fantastic tricks. The director in this film is unknown.
- 16
The Pumpkin Race
A pumpkin vendor returns with her loaded car. Two pranksters overturn the car, and what follows is a truly hilarious and eventful pumpkin hunt. (Nouveautés Cinématographiques, February 3, 1908)
- 17
Four-Year-Old Heroine
A little girl runs away from the maid in charge of her care and, during her escapade, she will arrest two thugs, prevent a blind man from drowning, and save some drunks from being run over by a train. According to Etienne Arnaud's own notes, he filmed this short on the 18th and 19th of July, 1907. Alice Guy, who is mistakenly attributed to have directed it, had been living in the United States long before those dates.
- 18
The Boutdebois Brothers
Prodigious feats of strength by two little wooden men who leave the most sophisticated puppets far behind.
- 19
The Colonel's Account
This short film consists of a crazy old colonel being asked to entertain party guests about his exploits of daring. However, being a totally insane old coot, he runs amok acting out his war-time heroics--smashing and throwing everything in the room!
- 20
Le Coucher de la mariée
On their wedding night, the newlyweds are ready to go to bed with the ceremony of taking off their clothes, the bride, and the groom wanting to see what he has not seen yet.
- 21
The Vacuum Cleaner
In this funny picture we see the vacuum cleaner, the modern dust eradicator, performing some very droll tricks. As soon as the fellow turns on the air then the fun begins. It is all accomplished through some clever trick photography. First we see two attendants start out to do a cleaning job, and while they stop to take some refreshments, two men, who happen to be passing, take the machine and start down the sheet to have some fun. They meet a woman with a dog on a leash, and at a turn of the wheel, the dog and its mistress are quickly drawn into the spout. Next a nursemaid comes sauntering down the street, and when they level the spout at her she meets the same fate. A girl and her lover are the next to disappear off the face of the earth, and still they go along, looking for more victims. (Moving Picture World)
- 22
The Policemen's Little Run
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.
- 23
Why That Actor Was Late
An actor tries to get to a show on time. Many mishaps along the way.
- 24
Rogues' Tricks
Fun film from French master Georges Melies has a couple burglar's breaking into a man's home and having to hide when that man returns. Instead of a trick film or something that he's known for, the director really changes gears here and instead delivers what's basically an action movie.
- 25
Soap Bubbles
A magician blows some big bubbles and makes heads of women appear inside them.
- 26
Love's Surprises
A man, his wife and their two sons are having a meal. One of the sons leaves the room pretending to be ill and collects a bunch of flowers form a cupboard and goes out. The other son takes a bunch of flowers from under his bed and he too leaves, followed by their father, also carrying flowers. The two sons and their father call on the same young women one after the other; as each arrives, the previous suitor is hidden in a piece of furniture: the father under a chair cover, one son in a cupboard and the other in a piano. A girlfriend of the young woman visits and the two play pranks on the hiding men by playing the piano and sitting on the chair cover. The three men emerge and the father chases his two sons outside until they remind him of his own folly; he gives his sons some money and urges them to keep silent.
- 27
His First Cigar
The film is quite sophisticated for it's time with a relatively large number of scene changes as we follow Max's misadventures. It also features a close-up shot to show his reactions to the effects of the cigar he is smoking.
- 28
A Tricky Painter’s Fate
A painter boards a train and puts his paintings in the windows so that they look like passengers.
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His First Job
Georges Melies' film has a new guy showing up in a store on his first day and he obviously just doesn't fit in as he makes one mistake after another.
- 31
The Little Soldier Who Became a God
A mixture of stop-motion and live action film from Émile Cohl with tin soldiers, children's drawings and cannibals in blackface.
- 32
A Crazy Composer
A silly-looking composer attempts to compose. He then falls asleep, and dreams of all manner of bizarre nonsense.
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An Impossible Balancing Feat
A magician along with three doppelgangers perform an elaborate balancing act.
- 35
Cyrano de Bergerac
Considered the first motion picture to employ both color and sound, the only film record ever made of the original star of Rostand's famous play performing a scene from his most famous role. It is accompanied by a sound-on-cylinder recording of Coquelin's voice reciting one of Cyrano's speeches.
- 36
Wonderful Mirrors
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.
- 37
The Fur Hat
A grenadier had come to see his lover, a servant in the homes of wealthy bourgeois people. Hearing a noise, he is afraid of the masters and allows himself to be locked in a cupboard so as not to be seen. This is a hiding place that will spark many adventures.
- 38
The Rolling Bed
An impecunious chap is unable to pay his rent, whereupon he is ejected, but all his furniture is retained and he is allowed to remove only his rolling bed. Pulling this a few blocks, he is exhausted and lies down on the bed to rest. He is soon the center of attraction, and the crowd continues to gather, when the police order him away, and as he refuses to move he is started off by the officers, who guide him for a time, but are forcibly deterred by indignant citizens from further interference. The impecunious man and his bed, which gains momentum as it runs down the inclines, cause much excitement en route, and finally arrive at the business center, where it comes to a stop alongside the walk. Our friend has purloined a fur coat and an auto horn on his tour, and now presents a modern chauffeur. (Gaumont catalogue)
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A Sticky Woman
A lady uses her maid to lick her stamps, when an overtly excited man notices the maid, forcibly kisses her, and they wind up stuck to each other.
- 41
Man Monkey
A gentleman visits a hair consultant for his baldness problems. The latter recommends a new lotion. The gentleman lets himself be convinced and a bellboy is immediately dispatched for the delivery which arrives at the concierge's lodge. The concierge, curious, and believing it to be good wine drinks a good part of it. He then tops up the bottle with water from the carafe. His wife goes to take his package to the gentleman. The concierge who does not feel well goes to bed quickly. When he wakes up he is perked up. But dismay, he is completely covered in hair. At first frightened, his wife and he come up with an idea. They get hired by an impresario in a music hall number, to a big success.
- 42
The Dentures
Mother in law gets a new set of dentures. Despite being initially happy, the family soon discovers the teeth have a life of their own and jump from their owner's mouth and bite everyone who comes near--from ladies to gentlemen to policemen.
- 43
Long Distance Wireless Photography
Into a photography studio full of large fantastic machines steps an elderly couple. The bearded proprietor explains the equipment and gives them a demonstration: he starts machines whirring, and projects a painting of three women onto a large screen; suddenly the women begin to move. The customers are impressed. First the women sits in the special seat: she's projected onto the screen, and her good nature comes out in the laughing image. Then it's the man's turn, but the machine discloses a vastly different nature in him. Will his reaction threaten our proprietor's inventions?
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A Funny Shave
A man is trying to shave, but grotesque faces keep appearing in his mirror.
- 46
The Happy Microbes
A scientist has acquired a microscope and is showing it off to his friend. He takes various body samples - hair, phlegm, etc. - and puts them under the microscope. The "microbes" coalesce and form different shapes, creating caricatures of various people, such as mothers-in-law and drunks. These animated characters goof around in traditional cartoon fashion.
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Turn-of-the-Century Surgery
George Mélies made a version of this a few years later, often titled Une Indigestion, but Guy-Blaché’s earlier film Chirurgie Fin de Siecle (1900) is more widely available. And it’s not one to watch the night before an operation. In this clinic, a sign pleads “On est prie de ne pas crier/Please do not cry”, and the doctors set about the patient with saws, cheerily hacking off limbs, and then slopping them into a bucket, all the while arguing ferociously with each other. They then reattach arms and legs from a bucket of “exchange pieces” (using glue) before re-animating their victim, I mean patient, with bellows. (from http://silentlondon.co.uk/2015/01/23/10-disgusting-moments-in-silent-cinema/)
- 49
Good Glue Sticks
A peddler of "the best glue" sets up his outdoor stall. A crowd gathers for a demonstration. As he gives his pitch, two observant cops decide drive off his customers and close him down, much to his fury. He seeks revenge as they sit on a park bench.
- 50
The Fantastic Diver
Ferdinand Zecca's remake of his own film "Plongeur fantastique" (The Fantastic Plunger, 1901) with the same premise, showing a diver with reverse motion editing for a curious effect
- 51
The White Suit
The mishaps of a man who steps into the street wearing his brand-new white suit, and who instantly encounters every conceivable insult to his suit's integrity: a coalman bumps into him, a waiter spills food on him, a painter walks into him.
- 52
Little Tich (and his Big Boots)
This film belongs to the PHONO CINEMA THEATRE programme that ran during the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1900, with synchronized screenings of films and recorded voices of famous actors and singers.
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The Wig Chase
While a balloon merchant sleeps on a river bank, a group of children steal his balloons and attach them to the hat of an old lady. Her hat and wig come off and a chase through Paris begins.
- 55
Attempted Suicide
Suffering from unrequited love, Max hangs himself from a tree, and ends up hanging for hours while local townspeople squabble over whose responsibility it is to rescue him.
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The Haunted Hotel
Pathé film #2871. In a hotel, a weary traveler settles down to rest. But, hallucinations brought on by fatigue: monsters appear around the bed, which vanishes, while the traveler, thrown to the floor, gets up and grabs a chair. But it gives way beneath him and rolls to the other side of the room. The traveler tries again: the chair multiplies endlessly, multitudes of chairs fill the room but remain elusive to our traveler. Soon, they pile up around him, burying him as he struggles desperately… (Fondation Jerôme Seydoux-Pathé).
- 58
Le Boudoir mystérieux
A lady sits down at her make-up table and regards its mirror. Various women appear in the glass, dancing, primping and doing other feminine activities.
- 59
Le Matelas de la mariée
A mattress maker briefly leaves the mattress she's mending. A drunkard leaving the café sits down on it. The woman returns and finishes her work. Then, after numerous mishaps, the mattress is delivered. Finally, it's placed in a bedroom. Shortly after, a newlywed couple arrives. But at the crucial moment, the man emerges from the mattress, disheveled, much to the bride's alarm.
- 60
A Great Discovery
The son of an astronomer hides the family cat in his father's telescope.
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Spot at the 'Phone
A man inadvertently leaves his dog behind at the phone and calls him from the restaurant to give him directions so they can be reunited.
- 63
I'll Dance the Cakewalk
While one man holds a gun on him, the other signs a statement that he will dance a cake-walk whenever the other insists; which means, when he is pointing a gun at him.
- 64
Lost Umbrella
....and therefore a man leaves the building carrying an umbrella, which promptly blows away. Since no one in Paris has ever seen anything like this before, a dozen people, including a man hobbling along on a a crutch, chase the thing for kilometers -- I had written 'miles' but this is a French comedy.
- 65
The Enchanted Spectacles
A parlor full of bon vivants pass around an enchanted pair of spectacles that “reveal the personality and pleasures of the one who wears them.”
- 66
In a Difficult Position
Max, a young man about town, splits his trousers while getting ready to go out one night. After applying some rather risky repairs without taking the trousers off, he gingerly heads off to a dinner party. Of course, disaster strikes almost as soon as he arrives, and he spends the rest of the film frantically attempting to hide the gaping tear in his trousers from the other guests.
- 67
Partie de canot
As a result of a wrong movement, three persons upset their boat and fall into the water, but they find themselves again in the boat, but quite naked. They call out to their clothes which are in the water, which come to take their place.
- 68
The Smoking Chimney
When someone is cooking on the first floor. The smoke get in on the sixth floor
- 69
Afraid of Microbes
A man who fears the influenza microbe buys an antiseptic spray from a pharmacist. On his way home, he insists on spraying everyone he encounters, including the police.
- 70
I Fetch the Bread
A family sends a man out for some bread. Instead, he seems to be trying to find every drink in Paris. Another man goes out after him, but does the same. They both return, utterly drunk.
- 71
The Nest Robbers
A group of naughty boys steal a bird's nest and are pursued by game wardens.
- 72
Les Malheurs de Madame Durand
Madame Durand goes for a walk and is oblivious to practically everything. She ends up making a nuisance of herself again and again. It's so bad that she eventually even walks into an open sewer and falls down inside. She can't find her way out and wanders until she's overcome with fatigue. When she awakens, she has rats crawling on her! Eventually, despite herself, she is rescued and returns home....and you can only assume she learned absolutely nothing!
- 73
Artistic Ragpickers
Two rag-pickers enter their hovel with their bags of scraps. After a little preliminary comedy they set up a white sheet. One of the rag-pickers now takes a handful of scraps from the bag and throws them in confusion on the sheet. They immediately begin to dance and hop about on the white background and when they stop they have made a complete likeness of the King of England. The scraps are taken off and another handful thrown on, which in some manner resolve themselves into the likeness of the President of France.
- 74
Jim is Fond of Garlic
In this comedy we see a fellow giving orders to the cook to put plenty of garlic in his food, and she complies with his wishes by giving everything an extra dose of the unpleasant ingredient. The first victim of the fumes is a dog that is seated beside the table, and when the fellow blows his breath on the animal he falls over unconscious from the effects. Next he prostrates a street cleaner and a painter perched on a ladder, as well as a woman in charge of a newsstand. They all succumb and fall over unconscious on the ground. He enters the subway and meets a man coming up the stairs, and when the latter gets a whiff of the garlic he too, goes down in a heap. Entering the car in the underground road he proceeds to waft the strong odor over the passengers, with the effect that each in turn goes down and out on the floor of the coach. When he reaches the next station he alights, leaving th
- 75
Voilà mon mari!
Her husband goes away on a business trip. Her lover appears. However, before they can begin their affair, there is a knock on the door. He hides in a dirt chest. When the maid is gone, he comes out. There is a knock on the door. He hides in a filthy closet. When the gossip is gone, he comes out. There is a knock on the door....
- 76
I've Lost My Eyeglasses
A fat man has lost his glasses and runs into all types of problems trying to find them.
- 77
The Amorous Soldier
Pitou get some leave, so he goes to see his girlfriend, the cook at a house. When her other boyfriend comes in, she makes Pitou hide in the coal bin/garbage can, with the typical results for a slapstick comedy.
- 78
The Music Lesson
In front of a portico, a music teacher teaches music theory to a group of young women, including Julienne Mathieu. A piano stands on the right side. A staff is drawn at the top of the portico. The four singers have extendable necks, and their heads, as they elongate, form notes. Beneath the heads, thus detached from their bodies, and against a black background, white cut-out paper figures come to life. Then the heads return to the women's shoulders. From a white ball placed in the middle of the painting, eggs emerge and are placed on the staff. Then stick figures also emerge, forming the stems of the notes. Finally, stick figures come to life. This scene is repeated three times with different animations.
- 79
The Little Vixen
Max Linder is an ardent suitor for the hand of a somewhat rampageous young lady. The gentle Max suffers sadly from her rough treatment, but at length he extracts the promise that she will marry him when he has learned to juggle with three balls.
- 80
Jealous Dog
A couple goes out, leaving their little girl in the care of the nanny, who takes the opportunity to meet her young fiancé. Leaving the child unattended in bed, the dog , jealous of the adults' attention, seizes the opportunity for revenge that night: it knocks over the bedside lamp, which is full of rubbing alcohol and immediately sets the blanket on the child's bed ablaze. Panic ensues, the parents return, the young nanny is consumed by remorse... And it is ultimately the dog , also full of scruples, who saves the child from the flames in the burning house. (GParchives).
- 81
An Awful Symphony
Many of the scenes of this split-reel short about a bizarre group of tramp musicians who disappear into and out of drums, beach umbrellas and whatnots were shot in the street and the others were on stages decorated to look realistic.
- 82
L'Institut de beauté
A masher approaches a lady on the street who is elegantly dressed, but when he gets near enough to see her face he changes his mind so suddenly that he is glad to get away. The ugly woman passes on, however, and on reaching the store of a beauty doctor, decides to step in. The M.D. promises her complete satisfaction and gets busy promptly. First he subjects her mud-colored marcelled hair to a treatment, and in a little while she has beautiful raven-black hair. He massages her face and removes all dermatological defects, and finally gets to work on her teeth; in a few more seconds the woman emerges from the place a fine specimen of natural brunette beauty, with teeth like so many pearls. This time when she meets a gentleman on the street he promptly offers his arm.
- 83
The Erudite Dogs
1907 Pathé short featuring dogs performing tricks (filmmaker is anonymous). Not to be confused with Alice Guy's similarly titled film.
- 84
Misadventures Of The Hunt
A hunter buys a hare at a butcher's shop. He falls asleep in a train compartment. A woman riding with him wants to take the hare so she undresses him.
- 85
Whence Does He Come?
Backward facing camera stunt story of a man coming out of the water.
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Une femme trop pressée
A man collapses while drinking a cup of coffee. His wife and their servant raise a hand and releases it. It drops imertly. He's dead. His worries are over. His suffering wife, however, must go through the wearying routine of dealing with his death alone.
- 88
Vot'permis? Viens l'chercher!
A poacher eludes a gendarme with the help of some trick photography.
- 89
Trois sous de poireaux
A drunk man is going to buy more drink at his wife's expense, which he takes advantage of to get more drunk.
- 90
The Plank
A workman carries a piece of wood from a lumberyard to a work site. Along the way, he wreaks havoc.
- 91
Pédalard boit l'obstacle
A biker causes chaos as he rides over every obstacle in his way.
- 92
Mariez-vous donc!
A henpecked husband has had enough. After tending the garden and being hectored over his unsatisfactory housework, he kicks his mother-in-law, leaves his house and goes bicycling off, and his dog runs free.
- 93
Histoire d'un pantalon
When his wife gives to the ragman a pair of tan trousers in which all his money is kept, a man proceeds to rip the trousers off everyone he meets.
- 94
Le Gendarme a du flair
A gendarme is so tired that he takes off his boots and lies down to rest. A thief who sees the boots runs away but they give off such a bad smell that wherever he passes it causes people to faint from the stench.
- 95
A Kind-Hearted Policeman
In this picture we see a man who is vested with authority to enforce the law, but, unlike the usual sort of men occupying the same position, he is so kind-hearted that ofttimes he is governed by his sentiments, and is very indiscreet in meting out just punishment to offenders, He is patrolling in the country, where lawbreakers are not numerous, but once in a while it will happen that somebody is guilty of an act that is not just in keeping with propriety. His first duty is to arrest a pair of lovers whom he catches kissing, but when he comes upon the love-sick couple, and threatens to arrest them, his heart is softened by their tears, so he allows them to go their way with some good advice.
- 96
Mais dépêchez-vous donc!
A very wise inventor has perfected an electric device whereby he can control the velocity of everything in sight when he turns the crank attached to the box in which the wonderful apparatus is encased. The first picture Hire shows him in the laboratory after completing the machine, and when he turns the crank the girls who have been assisting him start to work with lightning rapidity and disappear from the room like a shot out of a gun.
- 97
The Inexhaustible Barrel
Wonderful trick film about two young girls and their magical barrel. Live animals and superb clothing keep jumping miraculously out of the barrel.
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The Next Door Neighbors
Two 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.
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