A Lost Film From 1897 Features Cinema’s First Robot. No One Knew It Existed Until Now

For anyone who has ever dreamed of stumbling upon a cinematic holy grail in a dusty attic, this story delivers. 

A Michigan resident has uncovered a viewable copy of a short film by Georges Méliès — the legendary “cinemagician” — inside an old, worn trunk of nitrate film rolls that once belonged to his great-grandfather. 

Before this find, no screenable versions of the film were believed to exist anywhere.

The film is Gugusse and the Automaton, a roughly 45-second comedic production dating back to approximately 1897. 

Its significance extends well beyond its rarity: the short is recognized for featuring cinema’s earliest depiction of a robotic character, a mechanical human-like figure called Pierrot Automate positioned atop a pedestal adorned with a dark-colored star. 

That robotic debut predates the actual coinage of the word “robot” by more than 20 years, according to the MIT Press Room.

From a Family Trunk to the Library of Congress

The reels originally belonged to William Delisle Frisbee, a Pennsylvania resident who worked as a potato grower, classroo...