October 9: Some Méliès in Black & White Gifs

 

October 1: Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel (1900)

 

The Uncle Josh series by the Edison studio was among the first narrative film series to feature a recurrent character. It was also very much in the slapstick vein. In this film, which runs a little less than 2 minutes, Uncle Josh finds himself in a haunted hotel with a decidedly mischievous ghost and a less than understanding hotel manager.  These films, another of which, Uncle Josh's Nightmare (1900), is in a same narrative ball park, are examples of the very wide influence that French filmmaker Georges Méliès had on early fantasy films. Edison, never to be a "one upped" by anyone, felt the need to make "trick films" in-house. They are fun to watch, but never match the brilliance of Méliès earlier (and later) works. Director Edwin S. Porter was a fine filmmaker in his own right, and left to his own devices, was also an innovator. But in this style of film making, which involved a lot of editing, the finished product comes off as a bit of a lazy rip off. But, still, these little films are fun to watch and deserve their place in American cinematic history as being some of the earliest examples of the fantasy genre produced in the United States. 

(all stills from The Library of Congress)

 

Spooktober 5: The Spiritualist Photographer (1903)

 

I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't feature a Méliès film in the first week of Spooktober, so I am going with one of his lesser known "trick films." One of literally hundreds that he made between the last five years of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twetith (many lost, as one can well imagine), Le Portrait Spirituel (or The Spiritualist Photographer) isn't so much a horror film, or even a fantasy picture, as it is a light hearted fancy that pokes fun of the spirit photography tradition that was an absolute craze in the late 1900's, but had waned by 1903. There is nothing derogatory in this little 2+ minute affair; rather it focuses more on Méliès' well honed editing talents. It's really more like a "magic" film (say, in like the David Copperfield tradition). But, it is fun and very atmospheric for this time of year. Besides, Méliés is credited with making the very first actual horror film, back in 1896.  Happy Halloween Season 🎃

 

More Mèliés Tricks

Back from dealing with Hurricane Michael yesterday, and wanted to share a little Mèliés flummery to express my sense of relief! This dates from 1903 and shows his prowess at careful film editing at it's best. 

Released 114 Years Ago

Méliès film La Chaudron Infernal or The Infernal Boiling Pot was released 114 years ago today.  It is now considered one of the earliest horror films, made by the man who is credited with making the very first horror film back in the 1890's. Happy Early Halloween! 

The Silent Image In Modern Medium: "Uncle Grandpa" and The Funny Face Party

I just happened to be watching a streaming episode of the very quirky and strangely entertaining cartoon Uncle Grandpa yesterday, which features the funny face party of season one.  I immediately thought of  a Georges Melies film of 1901 that goes by several names, the two most famous being The Man With A Rubber Head or The India Rubber Head (L'homme á la téte de caoutchouc) , which had to be both the inspiration for the episode and an out and out homage to the Melies.  Both are hilarious and speak for themselves as imagery.  

Countdown To Halloween Movie Celebration

I know I posted this last year, but I'm such a Melies fan, I figured, what the hell....re-post!  This represented one of the earliest horror movies.  Happy Early Halloween

The man himself.

Summoning The Spirits (1899)

Another haunted Melies short from the 1890's.

From The UK/England: How It Feels To Be Run Over (1900)

Early British filmmaker Cecil Hepworth, creator of Hepworth Mfg. Co., created the trick short by putting a camera directly in the path of the on coming car.

Un Homme de Tetes (The Four Troublesome Heads) 1898 Melies

La Diable Noir (The Black Imp) 1905

A Melies Film.  You might want to think twice about staying in this Hotel!

The Ghost Train (1903)

This is a "real life trick photo film" that was produced by the American Mutoscope & Biograph Co., the filmmakers working for them who shot this were neither never "credited" or those names were lost to history long before the 1920's.  The was made with a simple reverse negative process to turn an "actualities film" into something spooky.  By some standards it represents an example of American avant-garde in early cinema.

The Haunted House (1908)

If this looks like a Meliésé film...it's not.  It is a film by early Spanish "trick" film maker Segundo de Chomon, who, though is was influenced by Meliésé, was actually innovative in the field of set design all on his own.  And, to give him credit, he was much more narrative in his films than was Meliésé.  Happy Halloween!!

The Hilarious Posters (1907)