1897 in film

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The following is an overview of the events of 1897 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.

Years in film
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022
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Events[]

• January 28 – The first Venezuelan-made films are screened at the Baralt Theatre in Maracaibo, two locally-made actuality shorts, Un célebre especialista sacando muelas en el gran Hotel Europa and Muchachos bañándose en la laguna de Maracaibo.^[1]
• May 4 – During a film screening at the Charity Bazaar in Paris, a curtain catches on fire from the ether used to fuel the projector lamp. The fire spreads and becomes catastrophic, ultimately resulting in 126 deaths.^[2]
• June 20 – Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee procession filmed.^[3]
• The American Vitagraph Company is founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in Brooklyn.
• Mitchell and Kenyon go into a film-making partnership at Blackburn in the north of England.^[4]
• Enoch J. Rector develops a 63 mm film format called Veriscope, which films The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight on March 17.
• Thomas Henry Blair develops a 48 mm film format called Viventoscope.

Films released in 1897[]

• After The Ball, directed by Georges Méliès. First film to create the illusion of female nudity through a skin looking designed costume.
• Baignade dans le torrent, directed by Alice Guy-Blaché.
• La Bandera Argentina, believed for a long time to have been the first Argentine film. Now considered lost.
• Between Calais and Dover directed by Georges Méliès. A fictitious sea crossing.
• The Bewitched Inn (L'Auberge Ensorcelee), directed by Georges Méliès.
• Buffalo Police on Parade, produced by Edison Studios.
• The Cabinet of Mephistopheles (aka The Laboratory of Mephistopheles), directed by George Melies.^[5]
• Chicago Police Parade, directed by Louis Lumière.
• The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight, a documentary directed by Enoch J. Rector. The first film shot in widescreen. At an hour and 40 minutes, it is the first known feature film ever made.
• Cupid and Psyche, produced by Edison Studios.
• An Hallucinated Alchemist, directed by Georges Méliès. May be the first film to feature stop motion animation in cinema.
• Faust and Marguerite, directed by George Melies.^[6]
• The Haunted Castle, directed by George Albert Smith (British).^[7]
• The Haverstraw Tunnel
• Horses Loading for Klondike, directed by James H. White.
• The Hypnotist at Work directed by Georges Méliès^[8]
• Kørsel med Grønlandske Hunde, directed by Peter Elfelt; the first Danish movie sequence ever filmed.
• The Last Cartridges directed by . A dramatised war scene.
• Leander Sisters, produced by Edison Studios.
• Leaving Jerusalem by Railway, directed by Alexandre Promio and released by the Lumière brothers. May include the first moving camera shot in cinema.
• Lurline Baths, produced by Edison Studios.
• Making Sausages, directed by George Albert Smith.
• The Milker's Mishap, directed by James H. White; it is unknown whether or not this film has survived.
• New Pillow Fight, produced by Siegmund Lubin.
• Niagara Falls, directed by Louis Lumière.
• Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer, directed by George Albert Smith.
• On the Roofs, directed by Georges Méliès.
• Peeping Tom,a production of the American Mutoscope Company. A comedy.
• Prince Ranjitsinhji Practising Batting in the Nets, one of the earliest known films of Cricket
• Sea Fighting in Greece directed by Georges Méliès. A dramatised naval war scene.
• Seminary Girls, directed by James H. White.
• Spanish Bullfight, directed by Louis Lumière
• The Surrender of Tournavos directed by Georges Méliès. A dramatised war scene.
• Sutro Baths, No. 1, produced by Edison Studios.
• The X-Rays, directed by George Albert Smith. Cited as one of the first examples of special effects by jump cut.
• Salida de la misa de doce de la Iglesia del Pilar de Zaragoza a short silent film by Eduardo Jimeno, a pioneer of the Spanish cinema. Probably the first film made in Spain by a Spaniard.
• A Twentieth Century Surgeon, directed by George Melies.

Births[]

• January 3
  • Marion Davies, American actress (died 1961)
  • Pola Negri, Polish-American actress (died 1987)
• January 10 – Lya De Putti, Hungarian actress (died 1931)
• January 30 – Mary Ellis, American singer and actress (died 2003)
• February 10 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (died 1992)
• February 12 – Vola Vale, American actress (died 1970)
• February 19 – Alma Rubens, American actress (died 1931)
• March 16 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (died 1970)
• March 19 – Betty Compson, American actress (died 1974)
• May 18 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director (died 1991)
• June 16 – Elaine Hammerstein, American actress (died 1948)
• June 19 – Moe Howard, American actor and comedian (died 1975)
• June 23 – Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor (died 1986)
• July 10 – John Gilbert, American actor (died 1936)
• August 31 – Fredric March, American actor (died 1975)
• October 6 – Francine Mussey, French actress (died 1933)
• October 28 – Edith Head, American costume designer (died 1981)
• September 3 – Cecil Parker (Schwabe), English actor (died 1971)
• September 23 – Walter Pidgeon, American actor (died 1984)
• November 13 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (died 1975)
• November 25 – Ruth Etting, American actress, singer (died 1978)

Debut[]

• Marshall P. Wilder

External links[]

• 1897 in film playlist on YouTube

References[]