(''Bedtime for the Bride'' or ''The Bridegroom's Dilemma'') is a French

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

considered to be one of the first erotic films ever made. The film was first screened in Paris in November 1896, within a year of the first public screening of a

projected Projected is an American rock supergroup consisting of Sevendust members John Connolly and Vinnie Hornsby, Alter Bridge and Creed drummer Scott Phillips, and former Submersed and current Tremonti guitarist Eric Friedman. The band released the ...

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

. The film was produced by

Eugène Pirou Louis Eugène Pirou (26 September 1841 – 30 September 1909) was a French photographer and filmmaker, known primarily for his portraits of celebrities and scenes from the Paris Commune. He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle ...

and directed by Albert Kirchner (under the pseudonym "Léar"). It features a risqué (for the time)

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

, but does not end in nudity.

Content

A newlywed couple is in front of their wedding-bed after their wedding. The husband goes into raptures in front of his new wife, who simpers. She then asks him to withdraw while she undresses and he puts a folding screen between them. She removes one by one the many layers of clothes she wears — a jacket, a dress, underskirts, sub-underskirts, a blouse. The husband does not stay in place, sometimes mopping his front, sometimes reading a newspaper, sometimes having lecherous looks above the folding screen. The actors send numerous glances towards the camera.

History of the movie

The original film has been estimated to be around seven minutes long, but it had degraded to a poor condition in the French Film Archives until it was found in 1996. Only 3:46 minutes of the film have survived, which includes the undressing sequence. The film was shot in a theater set, and featured actress Richard Abel
''Encyclopedia of early cinema''
, Taylor & Francis, 2005, , p. 518 who performs the

. It is the direct adaptation of a theater show with the same name and the same cast. The show was very popular at the time, at Olympia Theater (Paris). It was a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, quite risqué, but still not explicit as the actress was not nude. However, because only less than four minutes have survived from the original seven minutes, it is impossible to see more than the striptease.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coucher de la mariee 1896 films 1890s pornographic films French silent short films French black-and-white films Lost French films French erotic films French pornographic films 1896 short films 1890s lost films 1890s French films

Content

History of the movie

See also

References

External links