Earliest Film Experiments (1874-1894)
by Tornado_Sam | created - 28 Aug 2017 | updated - 28 Aug 2017 | PublicThis is a list of some of the very earliest film experiments by Edison, le Prince, Muybridge, and others.
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1. Passage de Venus (1874)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Series of photographs of the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun in 1874.
Director: P.J.C. Janssen
Votes: 2,081
The oldest film on IMDb.
2. Sallie Gardner at a Gallop (1878)
TV-G | 1 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
The clip shows a jockey, Gilbert Domm, riding a horse, Sallie Gardner. The clip is not filmed; instead, it consists of 24 individual photographs shot in rapid succession, making a moving picture when using a zoopraxiscope.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge | Stars: Gilbert Domm, Sallie Gardner
Votes: 3,685
An experiment by Eadweard Muybridge using photographs to create the illusion of movement.
3. Buffalo Running (1883)
TV-G | 1 min | Documentary, Short
Individual photographs of the running of a buffalo shot in rapid succession.
Director: Eadweard Muybridge
Votes: 1,200
Another experiment by Muybridge, this time showing a buffalo galloping.
4. Man Walking Around the Corner (1887)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A frame sequence featuring a man walking around a corner.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
Votes: 1,564
A frame sequence by Louis le Prince.
5. Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short
In the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince | Stars: Annie Hartley, Adolphe Le Prince, Joseph Whitley, Sarah Whitley
Votes: 6,794
The world's first celluloid film, made by Le Prince in a garden.
6. Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge (1888)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A shot of people walking on The Leeds Bridge.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
Votes: 3,299
Another short by Le Prince of the Leeds' Bridge.
7. Accordion Player (1888)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A very brief film of a man playing the accordion.
Director: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince | Star: Adolphe Le Prince
Votes: 1,458
Adolphe le Prince plays the accordion in this Le Prince short.
8. Mosquinha (1890)
1 min | Short
Shot of the flight of a fly.
Director: Étienne-Jules Marey
Votes: 743
A experiment by french scientist Etienne-Jules Marey.
9. Monkeyshines, No. 1 (1890)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short
One of W.K.L. Dickson's laboratory workers horses around for the camera.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Star: Giuseppe Sacco Albanese
Votes: 1,646
The first film in the USA, created by Thomas Alva Edison.
10. Monkeyshines, No. 2 (1890)
1 min | Short
In an experiment that follows up on the results of 'Monkeyshines, No. 1', an Edison company worker again moves around in front of the motion picture camera.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Star: Giuseppe Sacco Albanese
Votes: 1,197
The second Monkeyshines experiment with Edison's Kinetograph.
11. Monkeyshines, No. 3 (1890)
1 min | Short
An Edison company worker makes large gestures in front of a Kinetoscope to test the new camera system.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Star: Giuseppe Sacco Albanese
Votes: 481
The third Monkeyshines short, now lost to history.
12. Dickson Greeting (1891)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short
The very first American film shown to public audiences and the press. It depicts William K.L. Dickson taking off his hat and greeting the audience.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 1,567
William Dickson greets the camera with a gesture of his hat.
13. Newark Athlete (1891)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
An athlete swings Indian clubs.
Director: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 1,816
Early Edison experiment of an athlete swinging Indian clubs
14. A Hand Shake (1892)
1 min | Short
Two men shake hands for the Kinetograph.
Stars: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise
Votes: 613
Early Edison short featuring two men shaking hands.
15. Blacksmith Scene (1893)
Unrated | 1 min | Short, Comedy
Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Stars: Charles Kayser, John Ott
Votes: 2,769
Early Edison short of blacksmiths.
16. Edison Kinetoscope Records: Annie Oakley (1894)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short, Western
Annie Oakley, the 'Little Miss Sure Shot' of the 'Wild West' gives an exhibition of rifle shooting at glass balls and clay pigeons in a film from the Edison Catalog.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Stars: Francis E. Butler, Annie Oakley
Votes: 1,490
Annie Oakley fires her gun a glass balls in this early Edison short.
17. Carmencita (1894)
Not Rated | 1 min | Documentary, Short
Performing on what looks like a small wooden stage, wearing a dress with a hoop skirt and white high-heeled pumps, Carmencita does a dance with kicks and twirls, a smile always on her face.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Carmencita
Votes: 2,048
An early Edison short of a performed dance.
18. Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Music
The earliest extant sound film. William K.L. Dickson stands in the background next to a huge sound pickup horn connected to a Thomas Edison phonograph recorder. As he plays a violin, two ... See full summary »
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: William K.L. Dickson
Votes: 2,563
First attempt to combine sound and film.
19. Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894)
1 min | Documentary, Short
A man (Thomas Edison's assistant) takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. This is one of the earliest Thomas Edison films and was the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States.
Director: William K.L. Dickson | Star: Fred Ott
Votes: 2,192
A popular Edison short of Fred Ott sneezing at the Kinetograph.
20. The Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's) (1894)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Action, Comedy
"A glove contest between trained cats. A very comical and amusing subject, and is sure to create a great laugh." (by Edison Films)
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Star: Henry Welton
Votes: 1,436
A boxing match between two cats.
21. Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph (1894)
Not Rated | 1 min | Short, Sport
James J. Corbett and Peter Courtney meet in a boxing exhibition.
Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise | Stars: James J. Corbett, Peter Courtney
Votes: 856
An early boxing match short by Edison.
22. Falling Cat (1894)
1 min | Short
A cat falls down and lands on its feet.
Director: Étienne-Jules Marey
Votes: 959
Etienne-Jules Marey's film proves cats do indeed land on their feet.
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