Open ClassicCINEMA
Back to the collection

OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1233

The Infernal Cake Walk

19035 minFrance
FantasyComedy

Synopsis

The cakewalk moves into an infernal setting populated by dancing devils. Bodies, entrances and stage effects make the fashionable routine part of a supernatural performance. Méliès appears both as the ruler of this underworld and as a grotesque dancing figure.

Watch the film ↓
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
5:21
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 short draws on the cakewalk's popularity in 1903. Trapdoors, pyrotechnics, substitutions and multiple exposures extend the dance beyond the possibilities of an ordinary stage act.

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 15, 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

Audience rating

Loading ratings…

Keep exploring

Collection