A lost film by Méliès found in a trunk in the United States

A silent short film by Georges Méliès, lost for over a century, has resurfaced in a family trunk discovered in the United States. Titled "Gugusse and the Automaton," this 45-second film, dated 1897, was unearthed by a retired man from Michigan among reels belonging to his great-grandfather. Restored and digitized by the Library of Congress, this very old work offers a valuable rediscovery in the history of early cinema, according to AFP.

A family discovery that became a cinematic treasure

The discovery was made by Bill McFarland, an American who acquired an old trunk passed down through his family. Inside, he found notebooks, projectors, and several rolls of nitrate film, a medium that is both fragile and flammable. According to AFP, he initially tried to sell the reels to an antique dealer before finally donating them to the National Audiovisual Preservation Center at the Library of Congress in Virginia.

Archivists identified it as Gugusse and the Automaton, a Méliès film known by its title but never before seen. George Willeman, head of the Library of Congress's nitrate film collection, explained to AFP that it was likely a third-generation print. The restoration was completed in a week, despite the film's delicate condition—shrinking and partially torn after decades spent in an attic, barn, or garage.

A precious testimony to early cinema

The film shows a bearded character manipulating a Pierrot-like automaton, which grows, shrinks, and then disappears under the blows of its master's hammer, thanks to editing effects that were already quite sophisticated for the time. Jason Evans Groth, curator of motion pictures at the Library of Congress, told AFP that the shots were "remarkably precise for such an old film" and that the gags were "timeless." He also believes it is "probably the first appearance of a robot ever filmed."

This rediscovery serves as a reminder of just how fragmentary Méliès's work remains. According to AFP, the filmmaker shot more than 500 films, but less than half have survived. Some of his negatives were even destroyed by him, with the recovered film later used during the First World War. Found among the belongings of a Pennsylvania showman who projected films in rural areas, Gugusse and the Automaton now adds a precious piece to the legacy of one of the pioneers of cinema.