THE BLACK IMP (1905)
aka Le diable noir
Article 4040 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-25-2012
Directed by Georges Melies
Featuring Georges Melies
Country: France
What it is: Tumbling imps in haunted hotel rooms

A traveler tries to settle in for the night in a room at the inn, unaware that the place is already home to a mischievous black demon who doesn’t care to share.

This short combines a couple of Melies’s favorite subjects; namely, that rooms at inns are hotbeds of paranormal activity and that all the troubles in our lives can be attributed to evil tumbling imps. There’s some fun to be had with this one, especially when the traveler finds himself being chased around the room by multiplying chairs. This is probably one of Melies’s funniest shorts.

THE BIG SWALLOW (1901)
Article 4039 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-23-2012
Directed by James Williamson
Featuring Sam Dalton
Country: UK
What it is: Shocking!

A passerby takes drastic measures to keep from being filmed.

Is it the birth of the cannibal film? Is it a suggested strategy for people who want to know how to deal with paparazzi? Or is it just a pretty silly idea for a silent short? I will say this much for it; it does use one of the most interesting close-ups in film history. And even if the movie does deal with the subject of cannibalism, the big question on my mind is whether the main character will be able to digest the camera with ease. This one is pretty surreal when all is said is done.

BETTY BOOP’S CRAZY INVENTIONS (1933)
Cartoon
Article 4038 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-22-2012
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Featuring the voice of Mae Questel
Country: USA
What it is: Animated comedy

Betty Boop serves as a hostess in a tentful of new inventions. All goes well until a self-threading sewing machine goes on a rampage.

Except in her very early incarnations (where she was a dog), the presence of Betty Boop in a cartoon does not necessarily make it fantastically themed; she is, after all, a human being, albeit one with a rather odd shape. However, the cartoon also features anthropomorphic dog Bimbo, as well as several other non-human animated characters. Furthermore, the inventions move it into the realm of science fiction. This isn’t the series at its most inspired, but it works well enough to get by, with most of the humor involving the ways the various inventions work, such as the stain-removing machine that works by leaving a big hole in the fabric where the stain occurred.

BEAR FEAT (1949)
Cartoon
Article 4036 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-19-2012
Directed by Chuck Jones
Featuring the voices of Bea Benederet, Billy Bletcher, Stan Freberg
Country: USA
What it is: Three bears cartoon

When Papa Bear gets the idea to train the family to become a trick bear act for the circus, he finds he has contend with his overeager and destructive son, Baby Bear.

The addition of the Walt Lee guide to my sources for my movie hunt lists has opened up the floodgates to a form that heretofore I’ve only flirted with for this project – the cartoon. The reason for this is that most of my other sources restrict themselves to feature-length films, and the only other source that really aspires to completeness (the Don Willis guides) restricts itself to Horror and Science Fiction, thereby skipping the primary fantastic genre (Fantasy) to which cartoons belong. As a lover of animation, I’m not going to complain.

This is one of the Three Bears cartoons made by Chuck Jones in the late forties/early fifties, featuring the furiously angry Papa Bear, the game but whiny Mama Bear, and the oversized walking disaster area Baby Bear. It’s one of those series that really didn’t use Mel Blanc all that much. This is pretty typical of the series, with Papa Bear suffering all sorts of indignities and accidents caused by a combination of his own bad temper and Baby Bear’s penchant for leaving destruction in his wake. My favorite moment here is a gag involving a somersault act into an easy chair; it’s one of those gags that takes its own sweet time making its way to a great punch line.

THE BALLET-MASTER’S DREAM (1903)
aka Le reve du maitre de ballet
Article 4034 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-17-2012
Directed by Georges Melies
Featuring Georges Melies, Zizi Papillon
Country: France
What it is: Trick short

A ballet master, frustrated in his attempts to work out a dance step, retires for the night. He is assailed by a dream of a ballerina performing in the netherworld.

Here’s another of Melies’s more minor entries. It’s pretty light on the special effects sequences, and seems more interested in the dance sequences themselves. Melies plays the ballet-master, and he shows that he himself is pretty light on his feet on occasion. I suppose that’s not really surprising; given the numerous occasions dancing girls appear in his shorts, he must have had an affection for the form.

THE BACHELOR’S PARADISE (1901)
aka Chez la sorciere
Article 4033 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-16-2012
Directed by Georges Melies
Cast unknown
Country: France
What is it: Trick short

A man pays a witch to provide him with a beautiful woman. After taking his choice from a magically-conjured assortment, he proceeds to romance her. However, witches are notorious pranksters, and…

When dealing with witches, always read the fine print and get a money back guarantee, or else you’ll make an ass of yourself… or the witch will. This is the type of short Melies could have made in his sleep by this time. It’s mildly amusing, but far from his best work.