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Playing Cards

18961 minFrance
Documentary

Synopsis

Three men gather at a garden table, with cards and a newspaper providing the afternoon's occupations. Drinks arrive, attention shifts from the game to a story being read aloud, and the group responds together. The camera records a small social performance whose interest lies in gestures and shared amusement rather than a dramatic complication.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
1:09
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 first entry in Méliès's Star Film catalogue follows a subject already used by the Lumières. Before his elaborate fantastic voyages, this early film explored the appeal of an apparently ordinary gathering.

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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