1903 in film
Encyclopedia
The year 1903 in film involved some significant events.
Events
- Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
demolishes "America's First Movie Studio", the Black MariaEdison's Black MariaThe Black Maria was Thomas Edison's movie production studio in West Orange, New Jersey. It is widely referred to as America's First Movie Studio.- History :...
. - The three elder Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
begin in the exhibition business. - Gaston MélièsGaston MélièsGaston Méliès was the brother of the more-famous French film director Georges Méliès. He also produced and directed a large number of early films in the United States....
, Georges' brother, opens a branch of Star Film in New York to defend its production's copyrights.
Films released in 1903
- A Daring Daylight Burglary, by Frank MottershawFrank MottershawFrank Mottershaw was an early English cinema director based in Sheffield, Yorkshire. His films, A Daring Daylight Burglary and The Robbery of the Mail Coach , made in April and September 1903, are regarded as highly influential on the development of Edwin Porter’s paradigmatic...
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1903 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1903 British silent film directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow. It is the first movie adaptation of Lewis Carroll's children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland....
- Capital ExecutionCapital ExecutionCapital Execution is a 1903 silent film drama directed by Danish photographer Peter Elfelt. Based upon a true story, the short 15-minute film relates the execution of a french woman who is condemned to death for killing her two children...
- Electrocuting an Elephant
- Fairyland: A Kingdom of FairiesFairyland: A Kingdom of FairiesFairyland: A Kingdom of Fairies is a 1903 short silent adventure film directed by Georges Méliès. Prints of the film survive in the film archives of the British Film Institute and the Library of Congress....
- The Great Train Robbery, by Edwin S. PorterEdwin S. PorterEdwin Stanton Porter was an American early film pioneer, most famous as a director with Thomas Edison's company...
- The Infernal Boiling PotThe Infernal Boiling PotThe Infernal Boiling Pot is a 1903 silent French fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès.The film shows a green-skinned demon who places a woman and then two courtiers into a burning cauldron. He performs an incantation and three spirits suddenly appear from the flames, before dancing above his head...
- Life of an American FiremanLife of an American FiremanLife of an American Fireman is a short, silent film Edwin S. Porter made for the Edison Manufacturing Company. It was shot late in 1902 and distributed early in 1903...
- The Magic Lantern, produced by Georges MélièsGeorges MélièsGeorges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects...
- Le Melomane
- Runaway MatchRunaway MatchRunaway Match or The Runaway Match, or Marriage by Motor is a 1903 short silent film consisting of nine shots. It may be the "first auto-centered narrative film" and the first car chase in the movies....
, possibly the first car chase on film - Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Vie et Passion du ChristVie et Passion du ChristVie et Passion du Christ is a 44-minute French silent film that was produced and released in 1903. As such, it is one of the earliest feature-length narrative films....
- What Happened in the Tunnel
Births
| Month | Day | Name | Profession | Year of death |
| January | 18 | Werner Hinz Werner Hinz Werner Hinz was a German film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984.-Selected filmography:* Die Buntkarierten * No Greater Love * The Last Witness... |
actor | 1985 1985 in film -Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie... |
| 10 | Violet Wilkey Violet Wilkey Violet Wilkey was an American child actor who appeared in films over a four year period during the early silent film era.... |
actor | 1976 1976 in film The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film... |
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| February | 11 | Rex Lease Rex Lease Rex Lloyd Lease was an American actor. He appeared in over 300 films, mainly in westerns. Lease was accused in 1930 by Vivian Duncan of the Duncan Sisters for assault... |
actor | 1966 1966 in film The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer... |
| 16 | Edgar Bergen Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:... |
ventriloquist Ventriloquism Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"... , actor |
1978 1978 in film The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.... |
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| 28 | Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made... |
director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... |
1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.... |
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| March | 3 | Adrian Adrian (costume designer) Adrian Adolph Greenberg , most widely known as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career, he designed costumes for over 250 films and his screen credits usually read as... |
costume designer Costume Designer A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The... |
1959 1959 in film The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters.... |
| 4 | Dorothy Mackaill Dorothy Mackaill Dorothy Mackaill was an English-born American actress, most notably of the silent film era and into the early 1930s.-Early life:... |
actress | 1990 1990 in film The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.... |
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| 16 | Dorothy Seastrom Dorothy Seastrom Dorothy Seastrom was an American silent film actress.-Early life and career:Born in Texas, Seastrom got into acting after winning the a beauty competition.... |
actress | 1930 1930 in film -Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism... |
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| April | 26 | Dorothy Sebastian Dorothy Sebastian Dorothy Sebastian was an American film and stage actress.-Early life and career:Sebastian was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. In her youth she hoped to be a dancer and later a film actress. Her family frowned on both ambitions, however, so she fled to New York at the age of 15... |
actress | 1957 1957 in film The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:... |
| 26 | Luis Moglia Barth Luis Moglia Barth Luis Moglia Barth was an Argentine film director and screenwriter, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era. He directed some 30 films between 1927 and 1959, often screenwriting for his pictures.He directed films such as Los tres berretines and Amalia... |
director | 1984 1984 in film -Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film.... |
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| May | 2 | Bing Crosby Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.... |
singer, actor | 1977 1977 in film The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network.... |
| 8 | Fernandel Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin , better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born in Marseille, France, he was a comedy star who first gained popularity in French vaudeville, operettas, and music-hall revues... |
actor | 1971 1971 in film The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music... |
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| 14 | Billie Dove Billie Dove Billie Dove was an American actress.-Early life and career:She was born as Bertha Bohny in New York City to Charles and Bertha Bohny who were Swiss immigrants. As a teen, she worked as a model to help support her family and was hired at the age of 15 by Florenz Ziegfeld to appear in his Ziegfeld... |
actress | 1997 1997 in film -Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*... |
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| 25 | Binnie Barnes Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud "Binnie" Barnes was an English-American actress. She was born in Islington to a Jewish father and an Italian mother and was brought up Jewish, although she converted to Catholicism later in life.... |
actress | 1998 1998 in film -Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:... |
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| 28 | Luis César Amadori Luis César Amadori Luis César Amadori was an Italian - Argentine film director and screenwriter and one of the most influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era... |
film director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... |
1977 1977 in film The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network.... |
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| 29 | Bob Hope Bob Hope Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel... |
actor, comedian Comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy... |
2003 2003 in film The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,... |
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| June | 16 | Ona Munson Ona Munson Ona Munson was an American actress perhaps best known for her portrayal of prostitute Belle Watling in Gone with the Wind .- Career :... |
actress | 1955 1955 in film The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released.... |
| 18 | Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy... |
singer, actress | 1965 1965 in film The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:... |
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| 25 | Anne Revere Anne Revere Anne Revere was an American stage, film, and television actress.-Early life:Born in New York City, Revere was a direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere. Her father, Clinton, was a stockbroker, and she was raised on the Upper West Side and in Westfield, New Jersey... |
actress | 1990 1990 in film The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.... |
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| July | 18 | Chill Wills Chill Wills Chill Theodore Wills was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet.-Biography:Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas in 1902. He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s... |
actor | 1978 1978 in film The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.... |
| September | 13 | Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures... |
actress | 1996 1996 in film Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:... |
| 17 | Dolores Costello Dolores Costello Dolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"... |
actress | 1979 1979 in film The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.... |
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| October | 22 | Jerome "Curly" Howard Curly Howard Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine... |
actor, comedian, member of The Three Stooges Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,... |
1952 1952 in film The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.... |
| November | 7 | Dean Jagger Dean Jagger Dean Jagger was an Academy Award winning American film actor.-Career:Born Ira Dean Jagger in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Jagger made his film debut in The Woman from Hell with Mary Astor... |
actor | 1991 1991 in film The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November... |
| December | 10 | Una Merkel Una Merkel Una Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928... |
actress | 1986 1986 in film -Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.... |
| 16 | Hardie Albright Hardie Albright Hardie Albright was an American actor and the son of travelling vaudevillians.Born as Hardie Hunter Albrecht, he made his stage debut in one of his parents' acts at the age of 7.... |
actor | 1975 1975 in film The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London.... |
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| 26 | Elisha Cook Jr. Elisha Cook Jr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American character actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and weedy neurotics in dozens of films... |
actor | 1995 1995 in film -Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation.... |