Beginning of the Serpentine Dance
In a living room, four contemporary couples from the time the film was shot dance a waltz under the direction of a violinist (Linder). They begin a minuet and their costumes change in a sudden. A man enters and seems interested in what he sees, casts a spell and everything disappears. Transforming himself into the devil, the visitor takes the violinist with him to hell, where he creates a large piece of silk out of a cauldron. The fabric unrolls, revealing a young woman in a silk dress that starts dancing the serpentine. While she dances, other women join in a synchronized ballet, before all of them vanish into bursts of flames.
From the archive
Creation of the Serpentine starring Loie Fuller by Segundo de Chomón
Why this is free to watch
Beginning of the Serpentine Dance (1908) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. The uploader declared an explicit licence, linked in the source panel. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Segundo de Chomón
- Starring
- Max Linder
Player shortcuts
- Space Play / pause
- ← → Skip 10s
- ↑ ↓ Volume
- M Mute
- F Fullscreen
- 0–9 Jump to %
















