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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 891

A Terrible Night

18961 minFrance
ComedyHorror

Synopsis

A man preparing for sleep discovers an enormous insect moving across his bed and wall. Rest becomes impossible as he reaches for a broom and attempts to defeat the intruder. A single bedroom provides the setting for a brief struggle that enlarges an ordinary nighttime irritation into a visible comic menace.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
1:08
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Georges Méliès · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsGeorges Méliès

Behind the scenes

The insect is a physical prop operated with wire. Made early in Méliès's career, the film obtains its extraordinary effect through theatrical equipment rather than the camera substitutions that would become central to his later work.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Georges Méliès — Georges Méliès; Publicity materials for an exhibition at La Caixa Foundation: http://press.lacaixa.es/socialprojects/exhibiton-georges-melies-magic-of-cinema-caixaforum-barcelona-eng__816-c-17952__.html · Public domain

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