Baños brothers: Barcelona en tranvia / [A Tram Ride through Barcelona] (1909)

 

Ramón de Baños Martínez & Ricardo de Baños Martínez: Barcelona en tranvía (ES 1909). Photo: Filmoteca de Catalunya, Barcelona.

BARCELONA EN TRANVÍA / UN PASEO EN TRANVÍA POR BARCELONA / VIAJE EN TRANVÍA POR BARCELONA [Barcelona by Tram; A Tram Ride through Barcelona; A Trip by Tram through Barcelona] (ES 1909) dir, photog: Ramón de Baños Martínez, Ricardo de Baños Martínez. prod: Hispano-Films (Barcelona), commissioned by Metropolitan Cinemaway (Barcelona). filmed: 25.4.1909. rel: 1.5.1909 (pt. 1), 9.5.1909 (pt. 2), Metropolitan Cinemaway, Barcelona. copy: fragment of Pt. 2, DCP, 7'41" (from 35 mm dupl. neg., 150 m, 16 fps); titles: SPA. source: Filmoteca de Catalunya, Barcelona.

    Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Pordenone 2026: Phantom Tram Rides / Spanish Cinema 1896-1919.

    Grand piano: Stephen Horne.

    Viewed at Teatro Verdi, 3 Oct 2026  

Lawrence Napper (GCM 2026): "On Friday 23 April 1909, the Metropolitan Cinemaway placed an advertisement in Barcelona’s newspaper La Vanguardia: “This company is pleased to inform the public that, having commissioned Hispano-Films to film A View of Barcelona by Tram, to be subsequently screened at the Metropolitan Cinemaway, we are hereby announcing the date and time of the journey, so that anyone wishing to appear in the film may choose their position at any of the locations listed below. The tram carrying the camera  will have a trailer attached to the front and will depart on Sunday 25 April at 11am.”"

"This invitation clearly was enthusiastically taken up by local citizens. The resulting atmosphere of celebration makes this one of the most delightful of the phantom ride films. The film was originally in two parts; unfortunately the surviving footage is only a fragment of material from the second part. The tram is shown journeying from Paseo de Gracia to the San Gervasio neighbourhood. The intertitles indicating locations are a later addition."

"The Metropolitan Cinemaway, opened in 1909, was similar to a Hale’s Tour. The auditorium replicated a train carriage, and showed travelogues and phantom rides. Barcelona en tranvía was its most successful attraction. By 1911 it had been replaced with a more conventional cinema venue. The Baños brothers were prolific pioneer filmmakers in Spain, active from 1905 producing a range of actualities, travelogues, and dramas. The offices of the Hispano Films company were in Carrer de Craywinckel, which can be seen in the final moments of this film." – Lawrence Napper

AA: I have never seen a more enthralling phantom ride movie than Barcelona en tranvia.

Ramón and Ricardo de Baños Martínez have a perfect command on what they are doing. They want to convey a complete experience of Barcelona on tramway. The sense of sunlight, space, movement, perspective and viewpoint is exemplary. The definition of light is excellent. Most importantly: the focus is on the human experience. This is a movie about the people of Barcelona and their life in the city. They are on the move, very often on bicycles. It is fascinating to learn from Lawrence Napper's program note that you could cast yourself into the movie, because its route, locations and dates were pre-announced.

A very pleasant belle époque document.

Made by the brothers Baños Martinez. There are so many brothers in the history of the cinema, starting from the early days: Skladanowsky brothers, Lumière brothers, Méliès brothers, Pathé Frères...