THE ONE-MAN BAND (1900)
aka L’homme orchestra
Article 4234 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-22-2013
Directed by Georges Melies
Featuring Georges Melies
Country: France
What it is: Early trick short

A man creates a musical combo by duplicating himself.

I like the English title for this one; the phrase “one-man band” conjures up a vision of a guy marching around holding and playing several instruments with a bass drum attached to his back. This movie is Melies’s take on the concept, in which each musician is a duplicate of himself, thus still proving to be a “one-man band”. The movie ends with a few other amusing tricks involving the chairs the men were using. It’s a typical Melies trick short, but one of his more entertaining ones.