The Sprinkler Sprinkled (or, L'Arroseur Arrosé in its original French) is a fairly unassuming clip of 19th Century life. However, this short film is possibly the first example of both a fictional film and a comedy film, and there is one other very important first associated with this film.
As early pioneers of cinema, the Lumière brothers are, themselves, also responsible for a number of firsts within cinema. Having been directed and produced by Louis Lumière, The Sprinkler Sprinkled was the second film shown in one of the earliest known paid screenings, which was presented by the brothers on 28 December 1895.
Promotion for screenings was fairly commonplace by this time, with numerous posters in the 1890s to advertise the time and date of showings. However, The Sprinkler Sprinkled was the first film to have a poster which promoted an individual film.
The poster depicts a shot of the movie in the background with the audience in uproarious laughter in the foreground. As a poster, it was able to be much more easily coloured, but the film is still shown with its grainy monochrome.
Posters would go on to become more commonplace at the start of the 20th Century and today original historic posters are collectors items, occasionally fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
You can watch The Sprinkler Sprinkled in full below:
TikTok in 1895.
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