Open ClassicCINEMA
Back to the collection

OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1049

The One-Man Band

19001.5 minFrance
FantasyComedy

Synopsis

A performer steps onto an empty stage and multiplies himself into an entire band. Each copy occupies a chair and plays an instrument while another conducts. When the performance ends, the musicians merge back into their creator, who closes the act with another disappearance.

Watch the film ↓
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
1:21
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

Seven exposures place Méliès's separate performances together in the image. The illusion depends on carefully matched positions and timing, giving a seemingly simple stage act a demanding photographic construction.

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