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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1476

Sideshow Wrestlers

Synopsis

Encouraged by a friend, a man challenges professional wrestlers at a fair. The bouts become increasingly exaggerated, until his encounter with a much taller opponent produces an unlikely reversal.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
7:28
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

Behind the scenes

Méliès returns to the fairground wrestling spectacle, using a substitution cut to flatten a body impossibly. The physical contests combine a recognizable popular attraction with camera tricks.

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.

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 16, 2026.

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