Movie Magic ala Georges Melies!

The Tiny Dancer (aka 'The Dancing Midget') (1902)
Starring: George Melies, an Anonymous Actor, and an Anonymous Ballerina
Director: Georges Melies
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A magician (Melies) conjures an assistant, eggs, and ultimately a miniature ballerina. But he's saved his greatest trick for last!

 "The Tiny Dancer" is one of the many films by stage-magician-turned-pioneering-special-effects-artist Georges Melies performs cinema-enhanced magic tricks that culminate either in a magical mishap or a visual joke of some sort. I'll not say how this one turns out, because I don't want to spoil anything.

I've said before that this type of film are among my least favorite of Melies output. That said, this one is lively and amusing enough that it kept my attention throughout. The ending also make me snicker, and I always appreciate the short films that leave me smiling (for the comedies) or squirming (for the horror films).

But why don't you check it out? It's only a couple minutes long. Let me know in the comments whether you liked it or not!

Also, if you see Elton John, recommend that he check it out, too. I think he'll love it, for obvious reasons.

A high-flying early action/comedy!

A Dash Through the Clouds (1912)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Phillip Orin Parmelee, Jack Pickford, and Sylvia Ashton

Director: Mack Sennett

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Josephine (Normand) is more fascinated by airplanes and pilots than she is by her would-be boyfriend (Mace). After he jealously acts out and ends up being pursued by an angry, blood-thirsty mob, he comes to appreciate Josephine's love of aviation, as she and a pilot (Parmelee) come from the sky to rescue him.

 

"A Dash Through the Clouds" is a fun little action comedy where Mabel Normand screen presence and more natural acting style than her fellow cast members combine with a sense of excitement and wonder over the still-new technology of flight to almost make up for the thin and somewhat poorly structured storyline of the film.

While watching this film for its entertainment value might be reason enough to check it out, an added bonus is to watch it for the scenes featuring the rickety, early airplane where pilot and passenger sat on the wings, in front of the engine, with nothing between them and the sky. It's even more remarkable to see that it's actually actress Mabel Normand who's taking to the sky onboard the plane. because she glances over her shoulder toward the camera as it is lifting off. 


All the bits with the plane, whether it's landing or taking off, or being shown in flight are fascinating lots of fun to watch--and I imagine viewers who are aviation buffs like our heroine will find it doubly so. While this wasn't the first film to feature the then-new technology of planes, I think it may be the first where a plane and a pilot is a central and indispensable part of the plot.

Click below and join Mabel Normand on a dash through the clouds!  

Trivia: "A Dash Through the Clouds" was Parmelee's first and only film appearance. He was a real-life aviation pioneer--exactly the sort of dashing daredevil he portrays in this film. He died at the age of 25 as his plane crashed on June 1, 1912, just days after completing his scenes for the film. (The film first appeared in theatres on June 26, 1912, almost 110 years to the day of this post appearing.)

Men, Women, and In-Between in the Workplace

Mabel's Stratagem (1912)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, and Alice Davenport
Director: Mack Sennett
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A secretary (Normand) disguises herself as a man so she can get her job back after her boss's jealous wife (Davenport) insists he fire all female staffers and replace them with males.

"Mabel's Stratagem" is a straight-forward and silly comedy about sex, gender, and sexual harassment in the workplace.  The film is 110 years old, but pretty much all of the situational and gender-based humor works almost as well today, what with all the talk about how there's no difference between men and women, how the society is rotten with power imbalance with the hypocritical rich always abusing the workers, and so on.

While the acting styles are outdated, the film is so fast-moving that viewers hardly have time to notice the excessive pantomiming and emoting (except on the part of Fred Mace who really goes above and beyond). In fact, the only serious complaint I can mount is that maybe the film is a little too fast-moving; the story would be more effective if a little more time could have been spent developing the characters. 

"Mabel's Stratagem" is only five minutes, so I recommend you click below and check it out. I think you'll have fun.