Top 15 Films of 1897 and 1907

We continue our series on films celebrating 10-year milestones this year – we’ve already done 1997, 1987, 1977, 1967, 1947, 1937, 1927, and 1917. Now let’s head back to the dawn of cinema with a one-two punch of 1897 and 1907.

We’re combining two years from the early days of cinema, but whereas last year when we did 1896 and 1906 there were pretty equal numbers from each year on our list, this time only four of fifteen films are from 1897; 1907 is far more beloved by Flickcharters. Our methodology was simply counting both years together and taking the top-ranked fifteen films regardless of which year they were from.

So what happened in the single year between 1896 and 1897, and between 1906 and 1907 to offset the balance so much? It’s hard to speculate, since the Flickchart rankings of early films are so variable (these fifteen films moved around A LOT during the month we were preparing this list), but there are some interesting possible reasons for the slant. First off, the initial explosion of Edison and Lumiere actualities starting dying down almost immediately after 1896, and while Georges Méliès came on the scene in 1897, it would be another year or two before his films started making a big splash. In 1907, on the other hand, a lot of new and innovative voices were competing for attention, including Segundo de Chomón, while some more established filmmakers hit their stride, like Ferdinand Zecca and his slapstick comedy. 1907 sees a shift from the trick-based films that Méliès specialized in toward forms like drama and physical comedy that would dominate the next decade.

Juxtaposing these two years shows just how far cinema came in only ten years, from 30 second actualities to 10 minute narrative stories. Cinema is still in its infancy, even in 1907, but you can already start to tell where it’s headed, and it’s very exciting to see the baby steps as cinema toddles toward maturity.

15. The Policemen’s Little Run (1907)

Mack Sennett’s Keystone Studios is well known for its Keystone Kops series, focusing on bumbling cops usually involved in elaborately hilarious chases. Well, Keystone didn’t invent that. This one by Pathe director Ferdinand Zecca (also at least partially responsible for many of Segundo de Chomón’s successful fantasy films) may not be the earliest one, but it’s the earliest one I’ve come across so far in my whirlwind tour through early cinema, and it holds up great. The culprit here is a dog stealing a cut of meat and leading a horde of policemen on a merry chase. The pace is breakneck, the gags are solid, and if this is the first police chase comedy, it deserves a bunch of accolades. – Jandy Hardesty

Globally Ranked #7623
Ranked 545 times by 46 users
Wins 44% of its matchups

14. That Fatal Sneeze (1907)

There aren’t as many British films from this era as there are French and American ones, but the British ones that survive do often seem to be quite worthwhile. This one isn’t as ambitious or accomplished as The Policeman’s Little Run (see above), but it is quite funny and uses some camera tricks in quite innovative ways. A man tries to play a joke with talcum powder, but it backfires and he starts sneezing uncontrollably, each sneeze more powerful than the last. Before long, his sneezes don’t just threaten his immediate surroundings in classic slapstick fashion, but the filmic world as a whole, rocking the camera itself – a terrific innovation in using camera movement to indicate on-screen turmoil (in this case, the mighty sneeze). – Jandy

Globally Ranked #7451
Ranked 215 times by 47 users
Wins 38% of its matchups

13. The Devil’s Castle (1897)

This is actually the second Georges Méliès film released with a variation of title “The Devil’s Castle”; its predecessor, released in 1896, is on Flickchart as The House of the Devil and boasts a higher global ranking of #5105. Both films make use of substitution splicing to create a comedy of spooked humans tormented by the devil. It’s especially notable for being the first Méliès film to be hand-colored. At under three minutes, watch both and see which version you prefer! – Alex Lovendahl

Globally Ranked #7443
Ranked 1796 times by 109 users
Wins 38% of its matchups

12. The Prophetess of Thebes (1907)

https://youtu.be/FZ3O1Kp2C5M

The Prophetess of Thebes is basically 93 seconds of what-the-hell-is-happening. However it existed or was presented in its original form, it now seems to exist only as an absurd by-product of the generally illustrious career of George Méliès. After multiple viewings, I get the general idea that this “prophetess” is showing a king his future, in which he is, I think, killed by a knife-wielding assassin. (He’s watching this through a telescope, for some reason. We get it, George–you like telescopes.) After that. . . the king is impervious to assassins, I guess? And also, devils? I don’t know. I suppose I could spend some time wiki-ing ancient Theban mythology for clues, but even then I don’t know if I’m starting in Egypt or Greece, so I’ll just be content in my ignorance. (Note from the future: After reading an online synopsis, I realize that not only was I way off about certain events, but the version I watched was also missing the intro. Whatever. Sometimes in trying to interpret early cinema, it’s more fun not to know.) – Tom Kapr

Globally Ranked #7385
Ranked 265 times by 47 users
Wins 50% of the time

11. The Red Spectre (1907)

Segundo de Chomón burst on the scene in the mid-1900s with a series of trick films that at first seem to be nothing more than Méliès imitators. This one in particular is very reminiscent of several Méliès films that involve the devil conjuring up various things, notably pretty girls. But Chomón does distinguish himself in a few ways, particularly from contemporary works by Méliès. Notably, he doesn’t hold the action at arm’s length for the whole film – midway through the devil brings a set of glass jars right up to the camera so we can see the miniature girls inside them (a move which also provides a close-up on the devil’s effectively grotesque skeleton makeup). Also the devil is somehow very sincere and dynamic, while still indulging in stereotypical “big” acting. The twist at the end is also unexpected and pleasing. Though by 1907 film is starting to move on from the trick/conjuring film, Chomón proves that the form doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be stale and old-fashioned. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #7318
Ranked 496 times by 41 users
Wins 45% of its matchups

10. Seminary Girls (1897)

https://youtu.be/ofym0fSlL8Y

Seminary Girls is a 30-second film directed by James H. White for Thomas Edison. Thirty seconds of girls in nightgowns pillow-fighting until a predictably humorless headmistress barges in to break things up. Edison’s films have, by 1897, been left in the artistic dust by the aesthetically pleasing compositions of the Lumiere brothers’ mini-documentaries and the wild imaginativeness of George Méliès’s dream fantasies. But I suppose even before the turn of the 20th century some people wanted broad, salacious comedy, so maybe Seminary Girls is like Edison’s Porky’s to Méliès’ E.T. – Tom

Globally Ranked #7184
Ranked 1005 times by 76 users
Wins 39% of its matchups

9. The ‘Teddy’ Bears (1907)

While European filmmakers were still fairly focused on trick films and the slapstick that would grow out of them, Americans continued to be interested in filming existing narrative stories – in this case, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The story itself is pretty well-told, an improvement over many other narrative films in the years before this which are difficult to parse, but the highlight is an odd little theatrical sequence of teddy bears dancing and doing tricks. It almost seems based on the title that this sequence came first and they opted to build the Goldilocks frame around it, but in any case, this is an interesting entry in the Edison catalog from Edwin S. Porter and Wallace McCutcheon. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #7100
Ranked 369 times by 48 users
Wins 45% of its matchups

8. The Golden Beetle (1907)

An apparent collaboration between Ferdinand Zecca and Segundo de Chomón (credits are often murky during this era), this film teaches the very sound lesson not to throw magic golden beetles into fires. A conjuror does just that, only to have it escape in the form of a winged woman who proceeds to rain fountains and pyrotechnics down on the magician before turning the tables on him completely. Zecca was a director/producer for France’s Pathe company, who brought Chomón on board about this time. Their collaborations often mirror Méliès’ trick film style, but with a fresh energy and point of view, while Chomón’s solo credits would soon move the trick film into surrealism and Zecca would take the comedy route and make some of the first slapstick films. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #7088
Ranked 529 times by 51 users
Wins 50% of its matchups

7. The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897)

https://youtu.be/dbscS06dur4

If this were made today, we probably wouldn’t even consider it a film – what it is is a feature-length recording of a boxing match (20 minutes of the original 100 remain intact today). It’s a pay-per-view special. In 1897, boxing films were extremely popular, and usually shown in one-round segments (as this one may have originally been shown). This was the first time that sports fans were able to see sporting events that they weren’t present for, and boxing was one of the biggest sports with championships making big headlines. The opportunity to see a fight like this one for a few cents at an Edison Kinetoscope or (a few years later) in a nickelodeon was a game-changer for sports fans. Today it’s tough to sit through something like this, especially when we aren’t invested in the fighters, but in 1897, the possibilities presented by filming major sports events was huge – and of course, today’s sports fans are still excited by watching their favorites on TV, so while the filming techniques have changed, the popularity of recordings like this has stayed exactly the same. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #6993
Ranked 504 times by 54 users
Wins 33% of its matchups

6. Good Glue Sticks (1907)

I’ll be honest, by the time 1907 rolls around, Georges Méliès is just about running on fumes, and many of his more “serious” fantasy films feel pretty outdated and flat. Once in a while, though, he goes full comic again, presaging the slapstick trend of the 1910s, and when he does that, he can still be quite entertaining. Good Glue Sticks is a good example, featuring a glue stick salesman whose business is driven away by a couple of cops, and the zany hijinks he pulls on them in retaliation – sticking their uniforms to benches, to walls, etc. It’s one gag after another in quick succession, and the non-stop mania is definitely effective. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #6958
Ranked 747 times by 58 users
Wins 44% of its matchups

5. Sightseeing Through Whisky (1907)

The title Sightseeing Through Whisky suggests a bibulous two-week vacation to the distilleries of the Highlands, Lowlands, Campbeltown, and Islay – a trip every Scotch fan should take one day! That’s not what happens here, though. Our protagonist is visiting a ruin of the ancient world when he decides to take a whisky-soaked nap amidst his crumbling surroundings. A dream ensues, of course, in which men and women of the long-lost civilization tease and pose for the tippling tourist. Back in reality, pith-helmeted guides and a woman with an umbrella give the wayward drunkard his comeuppance, but he’s discovered a great new way to sight-see, so I suppose he’ll happily take his lumps! – David Conrad

Globally Ranked #6590
Ranked 281 times by 43 users
Wins 54% of its matchups

4. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1907)

The submarine was as real yet exotic a mode of conveyance in Méliès’ time as it was in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea author Jules Verne’s. In 1905, the year Verne died, the world’s first veritable submarine fleet saw action in the Russo-Japanese war. The technology was genuine, not merely speculative, but the question of what submariners might see and do in ever deeper depths, venturing ever farther from shore, preserved ample space for the creativity of storytellers. Méliès’ 10-minute take is less narrative and character-driven than Verne’s original, and it mostly confines itself to the director’s tried-and-true style of synchronized choreography, theatrical set-dressing, and humorous framing devices. Yet if this short does stand above most of its contemporaries from the year 1907, and its placement on Flickchart is not simply a matter of being mistaken for the feature-length 1916 version, it may be for its unusually realistic sealife props. The textures of the large fish and giant clams and crab look drawn from life, and their tangible presence is surprisingly undimmed by the passage of 110 years. – David

Globally Ranked #6485
Ranked 1075 times by 98 users
Wins 38% of its matchups

3. Tunneling the Channel (1907)

https://youtu.be/-yJo09rUhRo

Props to Méliès for dreaming up the idea for the Chunnel decades before it was actually built! There are some interesting ideas here, and some intriguing effects, as oversized representatives of England and France oversee commerce between the two nations and shake hands (on elongated arms) on creating a tunnel under the channel, then engineers on both sides proceed to dig the tunnel to completion and celebration. Unfortunately, each scene of this is so protracted as to make you almost forget what you’re watching. Two things to note: One is that most Méliès films, likely this one included, would’ve been presented with live narration explaining each tableaux; narration almost never accompanies existing prints, but when it does, it makes them much more watchable. Also, the print on YouTube is half terrible black and white print and half pristine color print, and this is a great example to show the differences in the effect – the second half is imminently more enjoyable with color. It’s easy to dismiss Méliès’ later efforts, and he certainly doesn’t continue to innovate as many of his contemporaries were doing at this time, but it’s also good to remember that we’re not necessarily seeing most of these films under ideal circumstances. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #6383
Ranked 705 times by 58 users
Wins 42% of its matchups

2. Peeping Tom (1897)

A delightful short that understands something fundamental to cinema, the nature of the voyeur. A hotel clerk peeps through keyholes on his guests to amusing results. When looking through these keyholes, the camera switches to the clerk’s first person view; the clerk becomes audience surrogate, and we join in on the clerk’s voyeurism. The remove of the camera makes film well-suited to explore this theme, and it’s appropriate that a later, more well-known film by Michael Powell shares this short’s title. Peeping Tom is a rather advanced short for its time, and is more than a curiosity. – Alex

Globally Ranked #6259
Ranked 1150 times by 72 users
Wins 43% of its matchups

1. The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907)

After the phenomenal success of A Trip to the Moon, Georges Méliès returned with some frequency to astrological subjects, and these types of film remain some of his most memorable (and highest-ranked). In this one, an elderly astronomer looks through his telescope to watch an eclipse, which Méliès visualizes as a courtship between the sun and moon, but um, kind of basically it’s intercourse, okay? But in a weird, pederast sort of way, given the way Méliès has designed the Sun and Moon. It’s weird enough that it’s worth watching, and the designs throughout are pretty memorable (including an extended sequence with stars and other celestial beings), plus there are some moments of humor involving the astronomer. It’s kind of an amalgam of Méliès’ various styles as of 1907, and it suggests that throwing in everything but the kitchen sink is sometimes the best option. – Jandy

Globally Ranked #5605
Ranked 1152 times by 69 users
Wins 51% of its matchups

Blogger’s Choice

Tom – The Colonel’s Account (1907)

I had never seen nor heard of this Gaumont film before it popped up in the 1907 list on Flickchart. It’s sometimes easy to go into early cinema with a blank slate, all of one’s preconceptions the product of reading a title and nothing else. When The Colonel’s Account began, I admit, I was formulating a snarky review in my head: “A silent film in which a guy stands at a table, and tells a story. Silently.” Then the first intertitle popped up. “Oh, so there will be intertitles. How dynamic.” But then what I thought was going to be a stuffy, stilted, sort-of drama took a sudden hard right turn into one of the greatest pieces of physical comedy I have ever seen. I won’t tell you how. I don’t want to spoil it more than I already have, more than I must to write any kind of review. But that moment came, and I burst into a laugh of surprise and delight. Rarely in my movie-watching have I been so delightfully surprised or had my expectations so thoroughly dashed in the best way possible. I regret that your experience will be less pure having now read this, but you really must see this film, and know the name Louis Feuillade.

Globally Ranked #7691
Ranked 473 times by 44 users
Wins 46% of its matchups

Jandy – The Bewitched Inn (1897)

I mentioned in the main post that by 1907 Georges Méliès was better off when he did comedy, and I’ll be honest – for me to a large degree, that’s true of his earlier films as well. He was the true innovator of cinema in the late 1890s, and while this film pulls out all the stops in terms of the cinematic trickery of the time, the thing that makes it so delightful is that it’s not really played for gasps but for laughs. This poor man (Méliès himself) is just trying to settle into a night’s sleep at the inn, but his clothes disappear, his candlestick teleports, his boots walk off on their own, his chair disappears…he’s just having a time. My favorite thing is that each thing only seems to be a minor inconvenience, and he’s just like “oh well, moving on” after every initial surprise. Méliès would return to this “haunted inn” theme often in his career, and they’re among my favorites of all his films.

Globally Ranked #13300
Ranked 345 times by 24 users
Wins 40% of its matchups

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