1903 in film

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

List of years in film (table)
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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 double-exposed image used to create one soldier's dream sequence may have been inspired by Méliès.[1]

Films released in 1903

• Alice in Wonderland, directed by Cecil Hepworth
• Apparitions (aka Le Revenant), directed by George Melies [2]
• Beelzebub's Daughters, 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 Well, 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]
• 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 together 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

Month	Day	Name	Profession	Year of death
January	6	Francis L. Sullivan	Actor	1956
	10	Violet Wilkey		1976
	18	Werner Hinz		1985
February	11	Rex Lease	Actor	1966
	16	Edgar Bergen	Ventriloquist, actor	1978
	28	Vincente Minnelli	Director	1986
March	3	Adrian	Costume designer	1959
	4	Dorothy Mackaill	Actress	1990
	16	Dorothy Seastrom		1930
April	9	Ward Bond	Actor	1960
	12	Luis Moglia Barth	Director	1984
	15	John Williams	Actor	1983
	26	Dorothy Sebastian	Actress	1957
May	2	Bing Crosby	Singer, actor	1977
	8	Fernandel	Actor	1971
	14	Billie Dove	Actress	1997
	15	Anny Ondra		1987
	25	Binnie Barnes		1998
	29	Bob Hope	Comedian, actor	2003
June	16	Ona Munson	Actress	1955
	18	Jeanette MacDonald	Singer, actress	1965
	25	Anne Revere	Actress	1990
September	13	Claudette Colbert		1996
	17	Dolores Costello		1979
October	22	Curly Howard	Actor, comedian	1952
November	7	Dean Jagger	Actor	1991
December	10	Una Merkel	Actress	1986
	12	Yasujirō Ozu	Director, screenwriter	1963
	16	Hardie Albright	Actor	1975
	21	Maria Balcerkiewiczówna	Actress
	26	Elisha Cook, Jr.	Actor	1995

Deaths

• c. February 15 – Julie Verstraete-Lacquet, Flemish actress, dies at 69

Debut

G. M. Anderson

References

1. Erish, Andrew A. (2012). Col. William N. Selig: The Man Who Invented Hollywood. University of Texas Press. p. 12. ISBN 0292728700. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
2. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 16.
3. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 17.
4. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 17.
5. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 17.
6. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
7. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 17.
8. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 18.
9. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 18.
10. Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0036-6. Page 18.