French silent film director and pioneer of special effects
Gaston Velle (1868–1953[1]) was a French silent film director and pioneer of special effects, who was prominent in early French and Italian cinema during the first two decades of the 20th century.[2] Like his father, the Hungarian entertainer Joseph "Professor" Velle, Gaston began his career as a travelling magician, before putting his illusionist skills to work in cinema and ultimately creating more than fifty films between 1903 and 1911.[3] He worked under Auguste and Louis Lumière, before serving as the head of production for the Italian film studio Cines. But he is best remembered for his work at Pathé, where he was hired to produce trick films that might rival those of his contemporary, Georges Méliès, including classic shorts like Burglars at Work (1904). Some films pioneered lasting techniques, such as his Les Invisibles (1906) – the first known invisible man film.[4]
Velle also created some of the first féerie films, such as tit-for-tat (1906).[5] Additionally, Velle collaborated with other directors such as Segundo de Chomon and Ferdinand Zecca to create such silent film classics as the Moon Lover (1905), the Raja's Casket (1906), and the Hen that Laid the Golden Egg (1905), the latter of which was featured in the 1997 Martin Scorsese film, Kundun.
Velle mysteriously retired from film production in 1913, and little is known about the last several decades of his life. Still, Velle remained part of a prominent cinematic family. Most notably, his son Maurice Velle, a Parisian cinematographer, had a family with screenwriter Mary Murillo.
^Bibliotheque nationale de France
^Oscherwitz, Dayna; Higgins, MaryEllen (2 September 2009). The A to Z of French Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7038-3.
^Solomon, Matthew (2010). Disappearing Tricks: Silent Film, Houdini, and the New Magic of the Twentieth Century. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07697-8.
^Williamson, Colin (22 October 2015). Hidden in Plain Sight: An Archaeology of Magic and the Cinema. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-7256-7.
^Dahlquist, Marina; Galili, Doron; Olsson, Jan; Robert, Valentine (1 November 2018). Corporeality in Early Cinema: Viscera, Skin, and Physical Form. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-03366-6.
GastonVelle (1868–1953) was a French silent film director and pioneer of special effects, who was prominent in early French and Italian cinema during...
with the Golden Eggs, is a 1905 French silent trick film directed by GastonVelle. The film is inspired by the eponymous fable by Jean de La Fontaine,...
department, France Velle-sur-Moselle, a commune in Meurthe-et-Moselle department, France GastonVelle (1868–1953), a French filmmaker Marit Velle Kile (born 1978)...
dévaliseurs nocturnes) is a 1904 French comic scene film directed by GastonVelle for Pathé Frères Film Company. Segundo de Chomón is cited as the artistic...
(French/ Lux) Cagliostro (French film) directed by Camille de Morlhon and GastonVelle, starring Helene du Montel, Jean Jacquinet, Stacia Napierkowska The Castle...
(France) The Clock-Maker's Secret (Le Secret de l'horloger), directed by GastonVelle – (France) Le Cochon Danseur (The Dancing Pig), directed by Millard Mercury...
as Tragedy in Mid-Air is a 1904 French silent short film directed by GastonVelle and distributed in France by Pathé Frères. The original French title...
Louis Velle (29 May 1926 – 2 February 2023) was a French actor. He appeared in numerous films including Stopover in Orly, The Impossible Mr. Pipelet,...
Walter R. Booth – (GB) The Rajah's Casket (L'есrin du rajah), directed by GastonVelle – (France) San Francisco: Aftermath of Earthquake, directed by Robert...
W. Bitzer – (US) The Infernal Cave (L'antre infernale), directed by GastonVelle – (France) The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship (Le Dirigeable...
them were shot by Segundo de Chomón, but she also appeared in films of GastonVelle, Albert Capellani, Ferdinand Zecca and Lucien Nonguet. Many of these...
C Y Directors Starring Description Otello Silent 1906 Mario Caserini GastonVelle Ubaldo Maria Del Colle (Othello) Mario Caserini (Iago) Maria Caserini...
films from many important Pathé directors including Nonguet Lucien, GastonVelle, Albert Capellani, Louis J. Gasnier, André Heuzé and Henri Pouctal. Zecca...
system, Francita, developed by her husband, Maurice Velle, son of French film pioneer GastonVelle, but the business failed after a disastrous demonstration...
uncle of actor Jacques Sablon. 1911: Fafarifla ou Le filtre magique by GastonVelle - Fafarifla 1911: Pendaison à Jefferson City by Jean Durand 1912: La...
cinema from France and taught them to young people. He became a pupil of GastonVelle, director of the production company Cines and learned how to use the...
des sergents de ville (André Heuzé) Voyage autour d'une étoile [fr] (GastonVelle) Au royaume de l'air (Walter Lantz) Le Dîner de Félix le Chat (Otto Messmer)...
Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris. In the stage version, the magician was GastonVelle, who would himself later become a director of Méliès-like trick films...
(Pathé) The Policemen's Little Run (André Heuzé) Trip around a Star (GastonVelle) Peter Pan Handled (Walter Lantz) Felix the Cat Dines and Pines (Otto...