The Cabbage-Patch Fairy

La Fée aux Choux (The Cabbage Fairy) is one of the earliest narrative fiction films ever made. It was probably made before the first Méliès fiction film, but after the Lumière brothers' L'Arroseur Arrosé. The confusion stems from the uncertainty in the dating of these three films. Many film historians have accepted that La Fée aux Choux was made in April 1896, just a month or two before Méliès made his first fiction film. L'Arroseur arrosé (generally considered the earliest fiction film) was screened in December 1895.

La Fée aux Choux is sixty seconds long, possibly making it the earliest known film with a running time of at least one minute.

The film is based on an old and popular French (and actually, European) fairy tale. According to it, baby boys are born in cabbages, and baby girls are born in roses.

Alice Guy Blaché, the director of La Fée aux Choux, is one of the early cinema's most important figures, and had an extensive career as a director, producer and studio owner, working in both France and the United States.
In a remake called Sage-femme de première classe (Midwife to the Upper Classes) from 1902, Guy Blaché appears, dressed as a man.

Synopsis

Dans un jardin, une fée se penche sur des choux immenses. Elle en sort comme par magie un, puis deux nouveau-nés qui gigotent, puis un troisième figuré par une poupée, qui sont successivement déposés à terre, donnant ainsi foi à la légende du folklore français selon laquelle les petits garçons naissent dans les choux et les petites filles dans les roses.

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