LE RETAPEUR DE CERVELLES (1911)
aka The Brain Inspector
Article 3508 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-26-2011
Posting Date: 3-23-2011
Directed by Emile Cohl
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Partially animated medical movie

A man goes to a noted brain inspector for help. After observing the goings-on inside the man’s head, the inspector concludes that an operation is necessary.

This short is a combination of live action and animation. The animated segments occur when the inspector uses a megaphone-like tube to inspect the man’s brain and sees various surreal visions, and again during the operation when the inspector removes a long rope from the man’s head. The rope then goes into a animated transformations, indicating that this is the cause of the man’s ailment. The animated transformations are very entertaining, almost Freudian at times, and it has a stream-of-consciousness flow to it. This makes for an interesting viewing experience, and makes me long for a rediscovery of Emile Cohl and his work.