1903 in film

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 2023
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The year 1903 in film involved many significant events in cinema.

Events[]

• Thomas Edison demolishes "America's First Movie Studio", the Black Maria.
• The three elder Warner Bros. begin in the exhibition business and open their first theater, the Cascade.
• Gaston Méliès, Georges' brother, opens a branch of Star Film in New York to defend its production's copyrights.
• Adolph Zukor and Marcus Loew partner with Mitchell Mark to expand his chain of movie theaters.
• William N. Selig's war film A Soldier's Dream is released. The film shows soldiers playing cards and music around a campfire. Scholars have speculated that the image used to create one soldier's dream sequence may have been inspired by Méliès.^[1]

Films released in 1903[]

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• Alice in Wonderland, directed by Cecil Hepworth
• Apparitions (aka Le Revenant), directed by George Melies ^[2]
• Beelzebub's Daughters (aka The women of Fire), directed by George Melies
• Capital Execution, directed by Peter Elfelt
• A Chess Dispute, directed by Robert W. Paul
• The Damnation of Faust, directed by George Melies ^[3]
• A Daring Daylight Burglary, by Frank Mottershaw
• A Message from Mars, by Franklyn Barrett
• Desperate Poaching Affray, directed by William Haggar; considered important in film history for its cinematic technique.
• Diving Lucy, produced by Mitchell and Kenyon
• Electrocuting an Elephant, cinematography by Edwin S. Porter or Jacob Blair Smith
• The Enchanted Cup (Brtitish) directed by Walter R. Booth
• The Enchanted Well (French), directed by George Melies
• Extraordinary Cab Accident, directed by Robert W. Paul
• Fairyland: A Kingdom of Fairies, directed by Georges Melies
• Faust and Mephistopheles, directed by Alice Guy (French)
• From Show Girl To Burlesque Queen, cinematography by A.E. Weed
• The Gay Shoe Clerk, directed by Edwin S. Porter
• The Georgetown Loop (Colorado)
• The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. Porter, starring Broncho Billy Anderson. Regarded as a milestone in film history for its innovative composite editing, camera movement, and cross cutting.
• Hiawatha, the Messiah of the Ojibway, directed by Joe Rosenthal, the first Canadian dramatic film
• The Infernal Cake-Walk, directed by George Melies ^[4]
• The Infernal Cauldron, directed by Georges Melies
• The Inn Where No Man Rests, directed by Georges Melies
• Jack and the Beanstalk, produced by Lubin.^[5]
• The Kingdom of the Fairies, directed by George Melies
• The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (La Vie et la Passion de Jésus Christ), directed by Ferdinand Zecca; this is a proto-feature film, or many short-films (in this case 31) that when combined can be seen as one feature film. 18 of the short-films were made in 1902 and shown in 1903, while 10 more were added and shown in 1904. The final three were added and shown in 1905. Stencil hand painted film frames were done between 1904 and 1905 by Segundo de Chomón.
• Life of an American Fireman, directed by Edwin S. Porter. May be the first cross-cutting editing in cinema [Editing between 2 separate scenes to show a more elaborate story. Helping introduce 2 situations that will come together later in that story or in a theme of the movie.].
• The Magic Lantern, directed by Georges Méliès
• Mary Jane's Mishap, directed by George Albert Smith.
• Misfortune Never Comes Alone, directed by Georges Méliès
• Momijigari, directed by Tsunekichi Shibata.
• The Monster, directed by George Melies
• The Music Lover, directed by Georges Méliès.
• Old London Street Scenes
• The Oracle of Delphi, directed by George Melies ^[6]
• Panorama of Beach and Cliff House, produced by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
• Petticoat Lane
• Rip Van Winkle (8 Short Films), directed by William K. L. Dickson.
• Runaway Match, directed by Alf Collins. Possibly the first car chase in the history of cinema.
• Sick Kitten, directed by George Albert Smith.
• Skyscrapers Of New York City, From The North River
• Snow White (produced by Lubin)^[7]
• A Spiritualist Photographer (La Portrait Spirite) directed by George Melies ^[8]
• The Trick Box (La Boite a Malice), directed by George Melies ^[9]
• Uncle Tom's Cabin, directed by Edwin S. Porter
• What Happened in the Tunnel, directed by Edwin S. Porter
• The Witch's Revenge (Le Sorcier) directed by George Melies ^[10]

Births[]

Deaths[]

• c. February 15 – , Flemish actress, dies at 69

Debut[]

G. M. Anderson

References[]