LES LUNATIQUES (1908)
aka The Whimsical People
Article 4308 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-11-2013
Directed by Segundo de Chomon
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Bizarre trick film

A woman on the moon plucks stars out of the skies to create clowns, but when she overloads the moon, they fall to earth and turn into dancing girls… and then things start to get weird.

Here’s another of Segundo de Chomon’s forays into the world of the surreal, though its extensive use of blackface in the final scenes renders it politically incorrect by today’s tastes. It’s also a bit reminiscent of Melies’s OFF TO BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM in some ways, but it’s not the first time Chomon has borrowed from Melies. It’s only mildly amusing, but I do have to admit I was surprised to discover that when I checked the the French title in a translator online, it was identical to the English title; I would have expected it to translate as THE MADMEN.