There existed no such thing as a copyright for a motion picture in the first decade of their existence, so the various production companies borrowed freely from each other -- when they did not simply take a print of the other fellow's work and produce more copies for sale.
However, by examining what was being remade, we can gain an idea of what was popular. Here, looking at this early Alice Guy short, in which a long-haired magician seems to turn a young woman into a large monkey and then into thin air, we can see that people were already taking notice of what Georges Melies was doing, and of his techniques.
It should be said in defense of Mme. Guy and Gaumont that their magician, setting and assistants did not look in the least like Melies'. On the other hand, there is none of the sheer joy of performance that Melies exhibited.
However, by examining what was being remade, we can gain an idea of what was popular. Here, looking at this early Alice Guy short, in which a long-haired magician seems to turn a young woman into a large monkey and then into thin air, we can see that people were already taking notice of what Georges Melies was doing, and of his techniques.
It should be said in defense of Mme. Guy and Gaumont that their magician, setting and assistants did not look in the least like Melies'. On the other hand, there is none of the sheer joy of performance that Melies exhibited.
