A Moviola is a device that allows a film editor

Film editing

Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...

 to view film while editing. It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier

Iwan Serrurier

Iwan Serrurier was a Dutch-born electrical engineer notable for inventing the Moviola.-Career:Iwan Serrurier moved to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. He settled with his wife Catharina in Pasadena, California, where he sold real estate and worked for the Southern Pacific...

 in 1924.
Iwan Serrurier's original 1917 concept for the Moviola was as a home movie projector to be sold to the general public. The name was derived from the name “Victrola” since Serrurier thought his invention would do for home movie viewing what the Victrola did for home music listening (The Moviola even came in a beautiful wooden cabinet similar to the Victrolas).