Films and TV Shows from the 1890s

poster Swimming in the Sea
Swimming in the Sea
(2.9/5)
1mn - Documentary
Several little boys run along a pier, then jump into the ocean.
poster Horse Trick Riders
Horse Trick Riders
(2.8/5)
1mn - Documentary
In the background is a house. In the foreground, a groom holds the reins of a sleek black horse that stands in profile. A tall man, dressed in a black uniform, demonstrates how to mount the horse then enc…
poster The Vanishing Lady
The Vanishing Lady
(3.2/5)
1mn - Mystery
Georges Méliès makes a woman disappear, then reappear.
poster Game of Cards
Game of Cards
(2.8/5)
1mn - Comedy, History
Three men are sitting around a table, two of them playing a game of Écarté. When the game is over, a domestic serves drinks.
poster Between Calais and Dover
Between Calais and Dover
(2.7/5)
1mn - Comedy
A rocky sea voyage as reenacted by Georges Méliès.
poster The Famous Box Trick
The Famous Box Trick
(3.1/5)
1mn - Fantasy
A magician performs a series of magic tricks involving a boy and a box.
poster The Surrender of Tournavos
The Surrender of Tournavos
(2.7/5)
1mn - Action, War, Drama
Three military men, seen inside a fortification, are firing on an unseen enemy force. The call for reinforcements but ladders appear signalling the enemy is about to overrun this position.
poster The Astronomer's Dream
The Astronomer's Dream
(3.7/5)
3mn - Fantasy
An astronomer has a terrifying dream.
poster Souvenir Strip of the Edison Kinetoscope
Souvenir Strip of the Edison Kinetoscope
(2.7/5)
1mn - Documentary
Eugen Sandow, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, appears in the Edison Company's film studio.
poster Adventures of William Tell
Adventures of William Tell
(3.1/5)
1mn - Comedy, Fantasy
The scene opens in an artist's studio where the unfinished statue of William Tell stands upon a pedestal. A clown appears and sticks a clay arm and clay head on the statue, thus completing it. He places a…
poster Panorama from Top of a Moving Train
Panorama from Top of a Moving Train
(2.9/5)
1mn - Documentary
With the cameraman atop a moving train car the viewer is given a one minute glimpse of a French urban area.
poster Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
(3.0/5)
1mn - Documentary
Divers go to work on a wrecked ship (the battleship Maine that was blown up in Havana harbour during the Spanish-American War), surrounded by curiously disproportionate fish.
poster The Kiss in the Tunnel
The Kiss in the Tunnel
(3.1/5)
1mn - Comedy, Romance
Produced and directed by George Albert Smith, the film shows a couple sharing a brief kiss as their train passes through a tunnel. The Kiss in the Tunnel is said to mark the beginnings of narrative editin…
poster The Devil in a Convent
The Devil in a Convent
(3.2/5)
3mn - Horror, Comedy, Fantasy
A priest is officiating at a convent, when suddenly he is transformed into the devil, who frightens away the nuns and turns the place into pandemonium.
poster Brandvæsenet rykker ud
Brandvæsenet rykker ud
1mn -
At first this looks like another of those innumerable fire brigade movies of the era in which you saw the horses charging pellmell out of the firehouse, pulling the firemen and the equipment. Usually they…
poster Une bataille dans le vieux Stockholm
Une bataille dans le vieux Stockholm
1mn - Documentary
A fight breaks out between two men in medieval Stockholm, Sweden.
poster Comic Encounter in the Djurgården
Comic Encounter in the Djurgården
1mn - Comedy
This is the first film ever filmed in Stockholm, Sweden. The part of the city featured is Djurgården (Tiergarten in German). It is where the unique outdoor museum Skansen is located.
poster President McKinley's Inauguration
President McKinley's Inauguration
1mn -
This film was shot on March 4, 1897 and is historic because it was the first footage shot of a sitting American President.
poster Dr. Macintyre's X-Ray Film
Dr. Macintyre's X-Ray Film
1mn - Documentary
The first X-ray cinematograph film ever taken, shown by Dr. MacIntyre at the London Royal Society (1896 and 1909). X-ray pictures of a frog knee joint, a beating human heart and movements of the stomach.
poster Snowball Fight
Snowball Fight
(3.4/5)
1mn - Documentary, Comedy
Wintertime in Lyon. About a dozen people, men and women, are having a snowball fight in the middle of a tree-lined street. The cyclist coming along the road becomes the target of opportunity. He falls off…