1898 in film

The following is an overview of the events of 1898 in film, including a list of films released and notable births. The Spanish–American War was a popular subject. Several films made by Col. William N. Selig dealt with the subject of war preparations at Camp Tanner in Springfield, Illinois, including Soldiers at Play, Wash Day in Camp and First Regiment Marching.[1]

List of years in film (table)
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Events

• May 19 – Vitagraph is founded in New York.
• August 27 – Alfred John West gives a Royal Command Performance to Queen Victoria of film from the cruise of HMS Crescent at Osborne House.
• Birt Acres invents the first amateur format, Birtac, by splitting 35 mm film into two halves of 17.5 mm.

Films released in 1898

• The Accursed Cavern directed by George Melies [2]
• The Astronomer's Dream, directed by Georges Méliès; re-released in 1899 as A Trip to the Moon[3]
• The Ball Game
• The Cavalier's Dream, directed by Edwin S. Porter
• The Cave of the Demons, directed by George Melies.
• Come Along, Do!, directed by Robert W. Paul. First multi-scene film in cinema [In this film 2 scenes are edited together for the first time in cinema.].
• Corbett and Sharkey Fight
• The Corsican Brothers, produced by G.A.S. Films (British)[4]
• The Damnation of Faust, directed by George Melies.
• Dewar's It's Scotch, the first advertising movie, produced by the Edison Studios
• Don Juan Tenorio, the first Mexican film with a plot, directed by Salvador Toscano.
• Eiffel Tower, directed by Louis Lumière. First (sort of) crane shot in cinema [It was taken from the ascending elevator in the Eiffel Tower.].
• Ella Lola, a la Trilby, produced by the Edison Co.[5]
• Faust and Mephistopheles, directed by George Albert Smith.
• The Four Troublesome Heads, directed by Georges Méliès
• The Humpty Dumpty Circus, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
• Jizo the Spook, Japanese (aka Bake Jizo)
• The Magician, directed by Georges Méliès
• The Mesmerist, directed by George Albert Smith. [6]
• The Miller and the Sweep, directed by George Albert Smith
• The Nearsighted School Teacher
• A Novice at X-Rays, directed by George Melies
• Pack Train On Chilkoot Pass, film shows landscape in Chilkoot Pass, Alaska or British Columbia
• Photographing a Ghost, directed by George Albert Smith
• Shinen no sosei (aka Resurrection of a Ghost), Japanese.
• Surrender of General Toral
• Smích a pláč (Laugh and Tears), directed by Josef Šváb-Malostranský, the first Czech film
• Santa Claus, directed by George Albert Smith. May include the first example of parallel action in a motion picture.

Debuts

• Josef Šváb-Malostranský[7]
• Johnston Forbes-Robertson – Macbeth
• Salvador Toscano[8]

Births

• January 22
  • Denise Legeay, French actress (died 1968)
  • Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director (died 1948)
• January 23 – Randolph Scott, American actor (died 1987)
• February 19 – Václav Wasserman, Czech actor, screenwriter and director (died 1967)
• March 11 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (died 1968)
• March 27 – Alma Tell, American actress (died 1934)
• April 9 – Paul Robeson, American singer and actor (died 1976)
• April 26 – John Grierson, Scottish documentary filmmaker (died 1972)
• May 16 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director and screenwriter (died 1956)
• July 10 – Renée Björling, Swedish actress (died 1975)
• July 19 – Olle Hilding, Swedish actor (died 1983)
• July 23 – Bengt Djurberg, Swedish actor (died 1941)
• August 30 – Shirley Booth, American actress (died 1992)
• September 14 – Hal B. Wallis, American film producer (died 1986)
• September 23 – Jadwiga Smosarska, Polish actress (died 1971)
• October 3 – Leo McCarey, American director (died 1969)
• November 8 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-born American actress (died 1937)
• December 20 – Irene Dunne, American actress (died 1990)

External links

• 1898 in film playlist on YouTube

References

1. Erish, Andrew A. (2012). Col. William N. Selig: The Man Who Invented Hollywood. University of Texas Press. p. 2. ISBN 0292728700. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
2. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 11.
3. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 11.
4. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 11.
5. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 11.
6. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
7. "Josef Šváb Malostranský". Československá filmová databáze (in Czech). POMO Media Group, s. r. o. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
8. "Salvador Toscano Barragan – Mexico's first filmmaker". Retrieved 2008-07-16.