1903 in film

The year 1903 in film involved many significant events in cinema.

Fandom movies:1903

Events

Thomas Edison demolishes "America's First Movie Studio", the Black Maria.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decides that federal copyright protection for "photographs" extends to motion pictures, and that filmmakers could copyright films as a whole rather than having to separately register each frame.
The three elder Warner Bros. begin in the exhibition business and open their first theater, the Cascade.
Gaston Méliès, Georges' brother, opens a branch of Star Film in New York to defend its production's copyrights.
Adolph Zukor and Marcus Loew partner with Mitchell Mark to expand his chain of movie theaters.
William N. Selig's war film A Soldier's Dream is released. The film shows soldiers playing cards and music around a campfire. Scholars have speculated that the double-exposed image used to create one soldier's dream sequence may have been inspired by Méliès.

Notable films

A

Alice in Wonderland, directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, based on the 1865 novel by Lewis Carroll – The Apparition , directed by Georges Méliès –

C

Capital Execution , directed by Peter Elfelt – A Chess Dispute, directed by Robert W. Paul –

D

The Damnation of Faust, directed by Georges Méliès – A Daring Daylight Burglary, by Frank Mottershaw – Desperate Poaching Affray, directed by William Haggar – Diving Lucy, produced by Mitchell and Kenyon –

E

Electrocuting an Elephant, directed by Edwin S. Porter – The Enchanted Well , directed by Georges Méliès – An Extraordinary Cab Accident, directed by Robert W. Paul –

F

Faust and Mephistopheles, directed by Alice Guy – From Show Girl to Burlesque Queen, directed by A. E. Weed –

G

The Gay Shoe Clerk, directed by Edwin S. Porter – The Georgetown Loop , directed by Billy Bitzer – The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. Porter, starring Broncho Billy Anderson –

H

Hiawatha, the Messiah of the Ojibway, directed by Joe Rosenthal –

I

The Infernal Cake Walk , directed by Georges Méliès – The Infernal Cauldron , directed by Georges Méliès – The Inn Where No Man Rests , directed by Georges Méliès –

K

The Kingdom of the Fairies , directed by Georges Méliès –

L

Life and Passion of the Christ , directed by Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca – Life of an American Fireman, directed by Edwin S. Porter –

M

The Magic Lantern , directed by Georges Méliès – Mary Jane's Mishap, directed by George Albert Smith – The Melomaniac , directed by Georges Méliès – A Message from Mars, by Franklyn Barrett – Misfortune Never Comes Alone , directed by Georges Méliès – Momijigari , directed by Tsunekichi Shibata, based on the 15th-century kabuki play by Kanze Nobumitsu – The Monster , directed by Georges Méliès – The Mysterious Box , directed by Georges Méliès –

O

Old London Street Scenes, directed by George Albert Smith – The Oracle of Delphi , directed by Georges Méliès –

P

Panorama of Beach and Cliff House, produced by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company – Petticoat Lane –

R

Rip Van Winkle, directed by William K. L. Dickson, based on the 1819 short story by Washington Irving – Runaway Match, directed by Alf Collins –

S

The Sick Kitten, directed by George Albert Smith – Skyscrapers of New York City, from the North River, directed by J.B. Smith – A Spiritualistic Photographer , directed by Georges Méliès –

T

The Terrible Turkish Executioner , directed by Georges Méliès –

U

Uncle Tom's Cabin, directed by Edwin S. Porter, based on the 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe –

W

What Happened in the Tunnel, directed by Edwin S. Porter – The Witch's Revenge , directed by Georges Méliès –

Births

January 6
*Stanley Smith, American actor and singer
*Francis L. Sullivan, English actor
January 7 – Alan Napier, English actor
January 10 – Violet Wilkey, American child actress
January 16 – Peter Brocco, American actor
January 17 – Warren Hull, American actor, singer and television personality
January 18 – Werner Hinz, German actor
February 8 – Greta Keller, Austrian-American cabaret singer and actress
February 11 – Rex Lease, American actor
February 14 – Stuart Erwin, American actor
February 16 – Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer
February 27 – Reginald Gardiner, English actor
February 28 – Vincente Minnelli, American stage director film director
March 2 – William Haade, American actor
March 3 – Adrian, American costume designer
March 4 – Dorothy Mackaill, British-American actress
March 17 – Dorothy Seastrom, American silent film actress
March 20 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor
March 25 – Binnie Barnes, English actress
March 28 – Charles Starrett, American actor
April 9 – Ward Bond, American character actor
April 12 – Luis Moglia Barth, Argentine film director and screenwriter
April 17
*Louis Jean Heydt, American character actor
*Leonid Kinskey, Russian-American actor
April 26 – Dorothy Sebastian, American actress
May 2 – Bing Crosby, American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor
May 4 – Paul Demel, Czech actor
May 8 – Fernandel, French comic actor
May 12 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor
May 14 – Billie Dove, American actress
May 15 – Anny Ondra, Czech actress
May 18 – George E. Stone, Polish-American actor
May 29 – Bob Hope, American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer
June 16 – Ona Munson, American actress
June 18 – Jeanette MacDonald, American soprano and actress
June 20 – Eddie Laughton, British-American actor
June 25 – Anne Revere, American actress
June 29 – Ellen Pollock, British character actress
July 1 – Don Beddoe, American character actor
July 2 – LeRoy Mason, American actor
August 9 – Tom Tyler, American actor
August 14 – Millard Mitchell, Cuban-American character actor
September 13 – Claudette Colbert, American actress
September 17 – Dolores Costello, American actress
September 29 – Ted de Corsia, American actor
October 20 – John Davis Lodge, American film actor, lawyer, politician, and diplomat
October 22 – Curly Howard, American comedian and actor
November 7 – Dean Jagger, American actor
November 12 – Jack Oakie, American actor
November 19 – Nancy Carroll, American actress
December 5 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch-German actor
December 10 – Una Merkel, American actress
December 12 – Yasujirō Ozu, Japanese filmmaker
December 13 – Norman Foster, American film director, screenwriter and actor
December 16 – Hardie Albright, American actor
December 21 – Maria Balcerkiewiczówna, Polish actress
December 26 – Elisha Cook Jr., American character actor

Deaths

January 4 - Topsy
c. February 15 – Julie Verstraete-Lacquet, Flemish actress, dies at 69

Debut

G. M. Anderson