THE DOCTOR AND THE MONKEY (1900)
aka Le savant et le chimpanze
Article 4073 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-8-2012
Directed by Georges Melies
Cast unknown
What it is: Melies comic short

A doctor keeps a monkey in a cage. The monkey breaks loose and wreaks havoc.

If it weren’t for the fact that the monkey’s tail comes off at one point, displays a life of its own, and eventually attaches itself to the doctor’s nose to make him look like he has a trunk, this Melies short would be free of fantastic content. This was one of Melies’s more comic oriented shorts rather than one of his special effects extravaganzas. The most interesting thing about it may be that it takes place in a two-story building, both floors of which are visible at the same time. There’s also a little raciness when the monkey pulls off the skirt of a woman, revealing her bloomers; I think this was racy back then anyway. This one is pretty minor.