The year 1904 in film involved some significant events.
__TOC__
Events
* As shown in the film series ''
Westinghouse Works'', some filmmakers begin to move away from eye-level filmmaking and use the camera to explore spaces from an angle usually inaccessible to the average person.
*
William Fox purchases his first
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
.
* 23 June:
Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870 - September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM).
Life and career
Loew was born in New York City, ...
founds the theatre chain, the People's Vaudeville Company, which later was renamed
Loews Theatres Loews may refer to:
* Loews Cineplex Entertainment, formerly Loews Incorporated, a defunct North American cinema chain which formerly owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
**'' United States v. Loew's Inc.'', a United States Supreme Court case involving Loews ...
which was the oldest theatre chain operating in North America when it was merged with
AMC Theatres
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. ( d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fo ...
in 2006
Films released in 1904
A
* ''Audley Range School, Blackburn'', produced by
Mitchell and Kenyon
The Mitchell & Kenyon film company was a pioneer of early commercial motion pictures based in Blackburn in Lancashire, England, at the start of the 20th century. They were originally best known for minor contributions to early fictional narrative ...
– (
GB)
* ''Automobile Race for the Vanderbilt Cup'', directed by
Billy Bitzer
Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer (April 21, 1872 – April 29, 1944) was an American cinematographer, notable for his close association and pioneering work with D. W. Griffith.
Biography
Prior to his career as a cameraman, working as a motion picture pro ...
and A.E. Weed – (
US)
B
* ''The Bewitched Traveller'', directed by
Lewin Fitzhamon and
Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios. In 1 ...
– (
GB)
* ''Blackpool Victoria Pier'', produced by
Mitchell and Kenyon
The Mitchell & Kenyon film company was a pioneer of early commercial motion pictures based in Blackburn in Lancashire, England, at the start of the 20th century. They were originally best known for minor contributions to early fictional narrative ...
– (
GB)
* ''
The Bold Bank Robbery'', directed by Jack Frawley – (
US)
* ''Buy Your Own Cherries'', directed by
Robert W. Paul
Robert William Paul (3 October 1869 – 28 March 1943) was an English pioneer of film and scientific instrument maker.
He made narrative films as early as April 1895. Those films were shown first in Edison Kinetoscope knockoffs. In 1896 he s ...
– (
GB)
C
* ''
The Cook in Trouble (Sorcellerie culinaire)'', directed by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use o ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
D
* ''
A Day in the Hayfields'', directed by
Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios. In 1 ...
– (
GB)
E
* ''
An Englishman Trip to Paris from London'', directed by
Lewin Fitzhamon – (
GB)
* ''
The European Rest Cure
''The European Rest Cure'', also known as ''European Rest Cure'' is a 1904 American silent comedy film, directed by Edwin S. Porter partly filmed on location in New-York.Review and link to watch the film:
Plot
The film tells the story of an ol ...
'', directed by
Edwin S. Porter
Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 – April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 2 ...
– (
US)
F
* ''
Faust and Marguerite (Damnation du docteur Faust)'', directed by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use o ...
,
[Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. .] based on the 1859
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
by
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been '' Faust'' (1859); his '' Roméo et Juliette'' (1867) also rema ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
* ''A Fire in a Burlesque Theatre'', directed by A.E. Weed – (
US)
G
* ''
Girls Taking Time Checks'', directed by
Billy Bitzer
Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer (April 21, 1872 – April 29, 1944) was an American cinematographer, notable for his close association and pioneering work with D. W. Griffith.
Biography
Prior to his career as a cameraman, working as a motion picture pro ...
– (
US)
I
* ''
The Impossible Voyage
''The Impossible Voyage'' (french: Le Voyage à travers l'impossible), also known as ''An Impossible Voyage'' and ''Whirling the Worlds'', is a 1904 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by Jules Verne's play ''Journey Throu ...
(Le Voyage à travers l'impossible)'', directed by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use o ...
, based on the 1882 stage play ''
Journey Through the Impossible'' by
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
L
* ''
The Lost Child'', directed by
Wallace McCutcheon Sr. – (
US)
M
* ''
A Miracle Under the Inquisition (Un miracle sous l'inquisition)'', directed by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use o ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
* ''The Mistletoe Bough'', directed by
Percy Stow
Percy Stow (1876 – 10 July 1919) was a British director of short films. He was also the co-founder of Clarendon Film Company. He was born in Islington, London, England.
He was previously associated with Cecil Hepworth from 1901 to 1903, wher ...
– (
GB)
* ''
The Moonshiner
"The Moonshiner" is a folk song with disputed origins. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 4301. Some believe that the song originated in America, then was later made famous in Ireland, while others claim that it was the other way aroun ...
'', directed by
Wallace McCutcheon Sr. – (
US)
O
* ''Opening of Drill Hall, Accrington by General Baden-Powell'', produced by
Mitchell and Kenyon
The Mitchell & Kenyon film company was a pioneer of early commercial motion pictures based in Blackburn in Lancashire, England, at the start of the 20th century. They were originally best known for minor contributions to early fictional narrative ...
– (
GB)
P
* ''Princess Rajah Dance'', directed by A.E. Weed – (
US)
R
* ''
A Railway Tragedy'', produced by the
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation
The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France.
Film production
Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...
– (
GB)
S
* ''
The Strike
''The Strike'' (also known as ''Strike!'', although this is more properly the title of the fictitious Hollywood movie featured in the episode) is one of the short comedy films – written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Ri ...
(La Grève)'', directed by
Ferdinand Zecca
Ferdinand Zecca (19 February 1864 – 23 March 1947) was a pioneer French film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter. He worked primarily for the Pathé company, first in artistic endeavors then in administration of the internationally ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
* ''
The Suburbanite
''The Suburbanite'' is a 1904 American short comedy silent film directed by Wallace McCutcheion and starring John Troiano. The film was produced and distributed by the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company. Prints exist in the Library of Congres ...
'', directed by
Wallace McCutcheon Sr. – (
US)
T
* ''
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjurer (Le Thaumaturge chinois)'', directed by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use o ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
* ''Troubles of a Manager of a Burlesque Show'', directed by
Wallace McCutcheon Sr. – (
US)
W
* ''
Westinghouse Works, 1904'', a collection of 21 short films directed by
Billy Bitzer
Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer (April 21, 1872 – April 29, 1944) was an American cinematographer, notable for his close association and pioneering work with D. W. Griffith.
Biography
Prior to his career as a cameraman, working as a motion picture pro ...
– (
US)
* ''
The Widow and the Only Man
''The Widow and the Only Man'' is a 1904 American short silent comedy film produced by the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company and directed by Wallace McCutcheon, Sr.Review and link to watch the film:
Plot
A group of women sitting on the vera ...
'', directed by
Wallace McCutcheon Sr. – (
US)
* ''
The Wonderful Living Fan (Le Merveilleux Éventail vivant)'', directed by
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.
Méliès was well known for the use o ...
– (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
)
Births
Deaths
* May 8 –
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the firs ...
, cinematographer (born 1830)
* July 15 –
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career a ...
, writer (born 1860)
* September 22 –
Wilson Barrett
Wilson Barrett (born William Henry Barrett; 18 February 1846 – 22 July 1904) was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his suc ...
, actor, writer (born 1846)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1904 In Film
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