# 1898 in film

The following is an overview of the events of 1898 in film, including a list of films released and notable births. The Spanish–American War was a popular subject. Several films made by Col. William N. Selig dealt with the subject of war preparations at Camp Tanner in Springfield, Illinois, including Soldiers at Play, Wash Day in Camp and First Regiment Marching.

## Events

* May 19 – Vitagraph is founded in New York.
* August 27 – Alfred John West gives a Royal Command Performance to Queen Victoria of film from the cruise of HMS Crescent at Osborne House.
* Birt Acres invents the first amateur format, Birtac, by splitting 35 mm film into two halves of 17.5 mm.

## Films released in 1898

* The Accursed Cavern, directed by George Melies
* The Astronomer's Dream, directed by Georges Méliès; re-released in 1899 as A Trip to the Moon
* The Ball Game
* The Cavalier's Dream, directed by Edwin S. Porter
* The Cave of the Demons, directed by George Melies
* Come Along, Do!, directed by Robert W. Paul. First multi-scene film in cinema [In this film 2 scenes are edited together for the first time in cinema]
* Corbett and Sharkey Fight
* The Corsican Brothers, produced by G.A.S. Films (British)
* The Damnation of Faust, directed by George Melies
* Dewar's It's Scotch, the first advertising movie, produced by the Edison Studios
* Don Juan Tenorio, the first Mexican film with a plot, directed by Salvador Toscano
* Eiffel Tower, directed by Louis Lumière. First (sort of) crane shot in cinema [It was taken from the ascending elevator in the Eiffel Tower]
* Ella Lola, a la Trilby, produced by the Edison Co.
* Faust and Mephistopheles, directed by George Albert Smith
* The Four Troublesome Heads, directed by Georges Méliès
* The Humpty Dumpty Circus, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
* Jizo the Spook, Japanese (aka Bake Jizo)
* The Magician, directed by Georges Méliès
* The Mesmerist, directed by George Albert Smith.
* The Miller and the Sweep, directed by George Albert Smith
* The Nearsighted School Teacher
* A Novice at X-Rays, directed by George Melies
* Pack Train On Chilkoot Pass, film shows landscape in Chilkoot Pass, Alaska or British Columbia
* Panorama de Manila (Manila landscape), one of the earliest Philippine films shot and produced by a Spanish soldier, Antonio Ramos showing some Manila sceneries.
* Photographing a Ghost, directed by George Albert Smith
* Santa Claus, directed by George Albert Smith. May include the first example of parallel action in a motion picture
* Shinen no sosei (aka Resurrection of a Ghost), Japanese
* Smích a pláč (Laugh and Tears), directed by Josef Šváb-Malostranský, the first Czech film
* Surrender of General Toral
* A Switchback Railway

## Debuts

* Josef Šváb-Malostranský
* Johnston Forbes-Robertson – Macbeth
* Salvador Toscano

## Births

| Month | Date | Name | Country | Profession | Died |
| January |
| January | 16 | Irving Rapper | US | Director | 1999 |
| January | 20 | John George | US | Actor | 1968 |
| January | 22 | Denise Legeay | France | Actress | 1968 |
| January | 22 | Sergei Eisenstein | Russia | Director | 1948 |
| January | 23 | Randolph Scott | US | Actor | 1987 |
| February | 10 | Robert Keith | US | Actor | 1966 |
| February | 19 | Václav Wasserman | Czechia | Actor, screenwriter, director | 1967 |
| March | 11 | Dorothy Gish | US | Actress | 1968 |
| March | 27 | Alma Tell | US | Actress | 1934 |
| April | 9 | Paul Robeson | US | Singer, Actor | 1976 |
| April | 21 | Walter Forde | UK | Director | 1984 |
| April | 23 | Ernest Laszlo | Hungary | Cinematographer | 1984 |
| April | 26 | John Grierson | Scotland | Documentary Filmmaker | 1972 |
| May | 16 | Kenji Mizoguchi | Japan | Director, screenwriter | 1956 |
| May | 23 | Frank McHugh | US | Actor | 1981 |
| June | 30 | George Chandler | US | Actor | 1985 |
| July | 10 | Renée Björling | Sweden | Actress | 1975 |
| July | 13 | Ivan Triesault | US | Actor | 1980 |
| July | 19 | Olle Hilding | Sweden | Actor | 1983 |
| July | 23 | Bengt Djurberg | Sweden | Actor | 1941 |
| August | 13 | Regis Toomey | US | Actor | 1991 |
| August | 30 | Shirley Booth | US | Actress | 1992 |
| September | 10 | Bessie Love | US | Actress | 1986 |
| September | 14 | Hal B. Wallis | US | Producer | 1986 |
| September | 16 | Baruch Lumet | US | Actor | 1992 |
| September | 23 | Jadwiga Smosarska | Poland | Actress | 1971 |
| September | 27 | Charles Williams | US | Actor, writer | 1958 |
| October | 3 | Leo McCarey | US | Director | 1969 |
| October | 18 | Lotte Lenya | Austria | Singer, Actress | 1981 |
| November | 18 | Andrés Soler | Mexico | Actor | 1969 |
| November | 29 | Rod La Rocque | US | Actor | 1969 |
| December | 5 | Grace Moore | US | Operatic Soprano, Actress | 1947 |
| December | 20 | Irene Dunne | US | Actress | 1990 |

### Date unknown

* Monang Carvajal, Filipina actress (died 1980)