Gaston Velle

A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.

Short film showcasing a circus clown act.

An Italian movie about Othello.

Two housemaids, arguing, start to fight : a houseboy steps in to separate them, and in doing so becomes their target and is literally torn apart....

A gentleman having lunch at a hostelry experiences all kinds of mishaps.

A magician performs various tricks.

A magician enters a café and sets about introducing his act, but a waiter interferes and throws him out the door. Disgruntled, the magician...

A cook mistakenly throws his kitchen boy into a huge pot while preparing a stew. Distraught, he attempts to make up for his mistake. Alas, Mephisto...

Harlequin is walking in a garden with Columbine. As he moves away to the distance and leaves her on her own, Mephisto appears, from inside a well,...

Pierrot woos Columbine, who abandons Harlequin. An old witch hands Harlequin a magical flute that will make his wishes come true, whenever it is...

Inside an operating room, a surgeon performs several procedures of "modern" surgery.

Under cover of a disguise, Santa approaches Saint-Anthony's hut and, via various tricks, sets out to try his faith. Will good triumph over evil?

A sorcerer conjures an old witch and instructs her to seek a maiden. Said maiden is assigned with the task to lure a young traveler inside the...

A woman, in her bedroom, is putting her jewelry away. Alarmed by strange noises at her door, she hides behind her bed. A burglar enters the room and...

A woman, who tried to smuggle goods under her clothes, is brought to an excise duty office for further inspection.

A merchant is giving a demonstration of his lifelike automatons to a bedazzled customer. Could these "larger than life" clockwork figures look too...

A group of naughty boys steal a bird's nest and are pursued by game wardens.

The stages that a caterpillar goes through, from larvae to chrysalis, to become a butterfly.

This is a mesmerising little short that employs a peculiar bird’s eye view of a mischievous devil who dances around, performing strange tricks...

This has more of a clear narrative than most of the films in the set although it’s still quite odd and random compared to today’s films....

This is an incomplete fragment of a longer film, so doesn’t make much sense, but it’s very beautiful and colourful with plenty of...

This is in poor condition and the hand colouring is a little rough around the edges compared to the others, but it contains some impressive...

A Japanese-set magic show. There is a lot of visual trickery on display, ending with an amazing effect using reverse footage and...

A man hides his valuables under his mattress before going to sleep, blissfully unaware of the two burglars on his roof.

A little flower film by Gaston Velle.

An evil magician visits the rajah's palace to perform his magic tricks, but he also steals a valuable casket making his getaway aboard a dragon. The...

An entomologist guilty of trying to capture rare insects is condemned to be pinned on a giant cork.

A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.

A scientist concocts a potion that can turn people invisible for short periods of time. Two crooks steal the potion and go on a crime spree.

An old astronomer has been transfixed by a star for a long time. He had but one thought: to travel to it, to declare his love for it! But how? A...

A drunk staggers into his apartment and falls asleep. He dreams he climbs to the top of a building and flies to the moon, then falls back to earth....

Gaston Velle's 'Les Fleurs Animées' was screened by the Australian-based Corrick Family Entertainers as part of their variety act. In their...

A beautiful seductive fairy makes gentle winged creatures appear.

After a quarrel Pedro walks out of the cafe leaving his fiancée (Stacia Napierkowska) alone. Heartbroken, she visits the flower garden and...

The town-crier summons the inhabitants of the town and they read a manifesto which is posted on a wall announcing the fact that at 4 o'clock on that...

A gentleman returns to his home office to find that the porter is smoking his cigars and has the housemaid on his knee.

A boy is put to bed by his mother, but when she leaves the room, he pulls out a book. Dropping off to sleep, he begins to dream. The wall behind him...

This Gaston Velle movie from 1904 was a fairly venturesome piece of film-making for the era. First, its credits include Jules Verne: his second after...

This Gaston Velle movie from 1904 was a fairly venturesome piece of film-making for the era. First, its credits include Jules Verne: his second after...

A young woman becomes pregnant and attempts to provide for her child after the father leaves her.

An old astronomer named Nigadimus has been transfixed by a star for a long time. He had but one thought: to travel to it, to declare his love for it!...

A couple performs the Ruffian's Dance.

A couple perform a acrobatic dance.

The first cinematographic adaptation of the infamous Count Cagliostro.

Short Pathe Brothers film

A trick film by Gaston Velle

A prestidigitator, one of the best, is about to perform a number of illusions and brings to his aid a pack of playing cards. He selects the King of...

This exquisitely coloured film features a series of models rotating slowly in front of the camera, allowing close-up views of their various...

As soon as his back is turned, Columbine is making out with Harlequin. So when he catches them at it, Gaston Séverin as Pierrot strikes her as...

A fire on a boat requieres the assistance of some sailors

A devil puts a woman into a boiling cauldron in a fiery cave.