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Movies: Popular Movies of 1896

Movies in chronological context: 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1896th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 896th year of the 2nd millennium, the 96th year of the 19th century, and the 7th year of the 1890s decade. As of the start of 1896, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. ()

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311 movies found (page 1/11):

The Haunted Castle(1896)

3min | Fantasy, Horror
3.2/5 (with 74 votes)

Le Manoir du diable or The House of the Devil, released in the United States as The Haunted Castle and in Britain as The Devil's Castle, is an 1896 French short silent film directed by Georges Méliès. The film tells the story of an encounter with the Devil and various attendant phantoms. It is intended to evoke amusement and wonder from its audiences, rather than fear. However, because of its themes and characters, it has been considered to technically be the first horror film, as well as potentially the first vampire film. The film opens with a large bat flying into a medieval castle, circling a room, and then suddenly changing into the Devil. Producing a cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a young girl and various supernatural creatures in an effort to scare two cavaliers, eventually succeeding in causing one to flee. Ultimately the remaining cavalier is confronted face-to-face by the Devil before reaching for and brandishing a large crucifix, which causes the Devil to vanish.

Directed by Georges Méliès - With Jehanne d'Alcy, Georges Méliès

The Kiss(1896)

1min | Drama, Romance / Love
2.6/5 (with 54 votes)

They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.

Directed by William Heise - With May Irwin, John C. Rice

The Vanishing Lady(1896)

1min | Mystery
3.1/5 (with 49 votes)

Georges Méliès makes a woman disappear, then reappear.

Directed by Georges Méliès - With Jehanne d'Alcy, Georges Méliès

Demolition of a Wall(1896)

1min | Documentary
3.2/5 (with 49 votes)

Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.

Directed by Louis Lumière - With Auguste Lumière

A Nightmare(1896)

1min | Horror
3.0/5 (with 43 votes)

A man has a fantastical nightmare involving, among other things, a grinning malevolent moon.

Directed by Georges Méliès - With Georges Méliès

The Cabbage-Patch Fairy(1896)

1min | Fantasy, Kids & Family
2.6/5 (with 39 votes)

A brief fantasy tale involving a strange fairy who can produce and deliver babies coming out of cabbages. This film is lost or never existed. Copies of it online are actually the 1900 remake.

Directed by Alice Guy-Blaché

A Terrible Night(1896)

1min | Comedy, Horror
2.6/5 (with 36 votes)

A man tries to get a good night's sleep, but is disturbed by a giant spider that leaps onto his bed, and a battle ensues in hilarious comic fashion.

Directed by Georges Méliès - With Georges Méliès

Serpentine Dance(1896)

1min | Documentary
3.2/5 (with 30 votes)

Angelic and demonic serpentine dances from dawn of cinema. The dancer is Loie Fuller; the pioneer modern dancer. Recorded in Paris, and hand-colored frame by frame.

Directed by Leopoldo Fregoli

Partie d'écarté(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.9/5 (with 27 votes)

Three men are sitting around a table, two of them playing a game of Écarté. When the game is over, a domestic serves drinks.

Directed by Louis Lumière - With Antoine Féraud, Antoine Lumière, Félicien Trewey, Alphonse Winckler

Sandow(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.6/5 (with 26 votes)

Strong-man Eugene Sandow flexes his muscles and strikes a few poses in front of a black background. This was a short film shot by William K.L. Dickson and produced in Thomas Edison's Black Maria studio.

Directed by William Kennedy Dickson - With Eugen Sandow

Playing Cards(1896)

1min | Documentary, Comedy
2.4/5 (with 25 votes)

Three friends are playing cards in a beer garden. One of them orders drinks. The waitress comes back with a bottle of wine and three glasses on a tray. The man serves his friends. They clink glasses and drink. Then the man asks for a newspaper. He reads a funny story in it and the three friends burst out laughing while the waitress merely smiles.

Directed by Georges Méliès - With Georges Méliès, Gaston Méliès

Panorama du grand Canal pris d'un bateau(1896)

1min | Documentary
3.0/5 (with 20 votes)

The first travelling shot.

Directed by Alexandre Promio
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Post No Bills(1896)

1min | Documentary, Comedy
2.7/5 (with 17 votes)

- No description / details available yet. -

Directed by Georges Méliès

Arrivée d'un train à Perrache(1896)

1min | Documentary
3.1/5 (with 17 votes)

A trains arrives at Perrache station and people disembark.

Course en sacs(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.9/5 (with 16 votes)

Several competitors take part in a friendly sack race, with widely varying degrees of success.

Directed by Louis Lumière

Partie de boules(1896)

1min
2.8/5 (with 16 votes)

Friends and relatives playing a game of boules, arguing about who's team is winning.

London, Cinematography Entry(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.8/5 (with 16 votes)

The facade and the traffic in front of the Cinematographe in London, close to the large ensign of the historical Empire Theatre, in London.

Panorama de l'arrivée en gare de Perrache pris du train(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.9/5 (with 16 votes)

A train arrives at Perrache station. We see the view from aboard the train.

Baby's First Steps(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.8/5 (with 15 votes)

A mother takes her children for a walk, lifts her baby girl out of the buggy and gently sets her down to the ground. She then moves a few steps away and calls her name, to demonstrate that her baby can walk.

Boules Game(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.7/5 (with 15 votes)

- No description / details available yet. -

Directed by Louis Lumière

Awakening of Rip(1896)

1min
2.1/5 (with 14 votes)

- No description / details available yet. -

Directed by William Kennedy Dickson - With Joseph Jefferson

Childish Quarrel(1896)

1min | Documentary
3.0/5 (with 14 votes)

Two babies are shown seated next to each other, in high chairs, apparently enjoying themselves. Suddenly one snatches a toy from the other and they indulge in hair-pulling.

Bassin des Tuileries(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.5/5 (with 14 votes)

Short of the Tuileries.

Champs-Élysées(1896)

1min
2.6/5 (with 13 votes)

Documentary of Paris.

London Street Dancers(1896)

1min
2.7/5 (with 13 votes)

Three young women dance in Drury Lane, London.

Ateliers de La Ciotat(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.6/5 (with 13 votes)

Men working at the shipyards of La Ciotat.

Directed by Louis Lumière

Rip Leaving Sleepy Hollow(1896)

1min
2.1/5 (with 13 votes)

- No description / details available yet. -

Chicago Police Parade(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.4/5 (with 12 votes)

Walking four abreast, in groups of six rows, 144 of Chicago's finest parade past a stationary camera. Each of the six groups that pass is escorted by an officer. All are men, all are white, all look tall, all wear identical high-buttoned uniforms and badges and carry a nightstick. Almost all sport mustaches. Behind the police comes a horse-drawn carriage.

Récréation à la Martinière(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.4/5 (with 12 votes)

Students in Lyon.

Directed by Louis Lumière

Dresden, August-Brücke(1896)

1min | Documentary
2.5/5 (with 12 votes)

A short film from the Lumière brothers, filmed in a Dresden street.

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