Société Générale des Cinématographes Éclipse

The cyclist is dispatched upon an important errand, and his humorous and alarming adventures by the way form the subject of this series. Misadventure follows misadventure with great frequency, but the cyclist comes up smiling every time, mounts his machine, and again resumes his journey. Accidents which would maim or kill an ordinary mortal serve only to spur him on to fresh exertions in a mad search for physical inconveniences and dangers, which always present themselves. (Picture World)

To the rhythm of a frenzied choreography, acrobatic matches come to life on a black background. Leaving their matchbox, they line the film in circular, concentric movements. In an almost aquatic momentum, the squadron of little bits of wood mould the contours of a character, a run-of-the-mill smoker, before transforming into a funny harness. The film ends when the matches, again transformed, take on the appearance of a distinguished man who, after several attempts, finally finds a way of lighting his cigarette.

An Émile Cohl animation short.

An animation where real life objects turn into animations.

"A charming story of a young society girl and the pathetic love of a youth..." Considered a lost film.

French adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum”.

Jeanne Doré becomes the accomplice of her son Jacques who unfortunately commits a crime to help his mistress, Fanny, find money.

When Pierre Dormain and his wife die in a train disaster, the custody of their children Simon and Dédée is transferred to their uncle Jean de Mareuil. The uncle is persuaded to let his servant’s mother take charge of their care. The money she receives for the care is spent entirely on alcohol and the children have to work hard for their meal. Eventually the children run away from home and roam the streets of Paris. When one of the children is seriously injured after an accident, the uncle finally realizes he has made a grave mistake.

Ernest Servaes and his wife leave their apartment, hoping to have a peaceful picnic in the green suburbs. However, they miss the train. Then the carriage they take turns upside down. Then footballers tromp over their picnic cloth.

Detective Nat Pinkerton is captured by a gang of murderous bank robbers known as The Black Riders, but he turns the tables on them in the nick of time.

The homeless Polycarpe steals a rifle from some careless society sportsmen and goes on a mindless shooting spree. (MoMA)

A dog causes a man to get chased.

The film begins with a shot of Wilbur Wright starting the engine; an unidentified assistant (quite likely his brother, Orville) is seen at the front of the aircraft. From there, shots of the aircraft in flight with Wright at the controls along with an unidentified passenger cut to shots of onlookers on the ground, presumably military and press liaisons. The aircraft is shown in side-to-side flybys as well as low-altitude passes directly toward and away from the camera. The aerial shots begin at the 1:34 mark immediately after a shot of the aircraft coming to a landing directly approaching the camera. (Wikipedia)

Artheme takes his elderly uncle for a walk in his wheelchair, but abandons the invalid in the woods overnight when he spots a pretty girl. (MoMA)

The lighthouse keeper has an attack while cleaning the light. He makes his unsteady way down to the living quarters and collapses. While his wife tends him, their children turn the lights that guide ships through saf passage by hand.

Arthème decides to become a film projectionist.