Quick Facts
Biography
Partie de cartes (also known as Card Game and The Messers. Lumière at Cards (USA), or A Quiet Game of Écarté) is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent film directed and produced by Louis Lumière and starring Antoine Féraud.
Production
It was filmed by means of the Cinématographe, an all-in-one camera, which also serves as a film projector and developer. As with all early Lumière movies, this film was made in a 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
The production was shot at Villa du Clos des Plages in La Ciotat, France.
Plot
Three older men, wearing hats and smoking cigars, are sitting at a patio. Two of the men are playing cards (Écarté) at a table while the third man sits watching. As the game continues a (younger) waiter walks across carrying a tray with a bottle of wine and glasses on it. The man sitting at the table then proceeds to pour the drinks while the waiter observes the card game.
Cast
- Antoine Féraud (waiter?)
- Antoine Lumière as Man playing cards (uncredited)
- Félicien Trewey as Man playing cards to the right (uncredited)
- Alphonse Winckler as Man playing cards (uncredited)
Current status
Given its age, this short film is available to freely download from the Internet. It has also featured in a number of film collections including Landmarks of Early Film volume 1 and The Movies Begin – A Treasury of Early Cinema, 1894–1913.