Month: March 2020

Princess Nicotine; or, The Smoke Fairy (1909)

PRINCESS NICOTINE; OR, THE SMOKE FAIRY (1909)
Article 4247 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-10-2013
Director unknown
Featuring Paul Panzer and Gladys Hulette
Country: USA
What it is: Weird tobacco fantasy

A tobacco enthusiast discovers fairies living in his tobacco box.

I have to admit I’m not sure what to make of this odd little trick short. It’s a hodgepodge of special effects that includes stop-motion, giant props, and miniaturization via mirrors (as in opposition to double exposure) among its tricks. It really doesn’t seem to have a story per se; it’s basically the smoker and the fairies playing tricks on each other. It will leave you wondering if someone has been smoking something other than tobacco, though.

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Wunder der Schopfung (1925)

WUNDER DER SCHOPFUNG (1925)
aka Our Heavenly Bodies
Article 4246 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-8-2013
Directed by Hanns Walter Kornblum
Featuring Paul Bildt, Willy Kaiser-Heyl, Theodor Loos
Country: Germany
What it is: Documentary on heavenly bodies

The nature of the various heavenly bodies is explored, as well as the history of astronomy and speculation on the creation and fate of the Earth.

Though the silent era is heavy on “actualities” (films showing real-life events), the documentary as we understand it seems to be a relative rarity. Being a documentary, I’m not sure this movie could strictly be called science fiction, but I do think it qualifies for this project, not only because the subject matter would prove to be of interest to science fiction fans, but also because the movie does use certain techniques that thrust it into genre area; for example, most of the second half of the movie is envisioned as a trip into outer space to explore the moon and the other planets, with some of the action taking place inside of a spaceship. Though the movie does get a bit dry at times, it is creatively staged, is full of fun (if not always convincing) special effects, and has a real charm to it. I do wonder if all of the footage is original to the movie, though; certain scenes (such as the destruction of the world in the last segment) are so elaborate that they do look like they may have been lifted from other movies; nevertheless, they are well used. I really enjoyed this one.

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Byaku fujin no yoren (1956)

BYAKU FUJIN NO YOREN (1956)
aka Madame White Snake
Article 4245 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-7-2013
Directed by Shiro Toyoda
Featuring Ryo Ikebe, Shirley Yamaguchi, Kaoru Yachigusa
Country: Hong Kong / Japan
What it is: Chinese fairy tale

A lowly herb clerk is seduced and possessed by snake goddess in human form. A Taoist monk tries to help him see the woman for what she is. Who will prevail?

This co-production between the Shaw Brothers and Toho is actually Toho’s first color special effects movie, so it has a certain historical value. It’s based on Chinese legend, and despite certain horror elements, it’s more of a fantasy/fairy tale than anything else. In purely visual terms, it’s a lovely movie to look at, especially in the opening scenes. However, it’s also somewhat long-winded, and after the failed attempt at the exorcism in the middle of the movie, it starts to run out of gas. Interestingly, the snake goddess is played somewhat for sympathy; she is sincerely in love with the man and is devastated at the thought of losing him. You can see the hand of Eiji Tsuburaya in the movie’s main special-effects sequence, involving a storm summoned by the snake goddess to inundate a temple. All in all, though I can’t say I found the movie truly engaging, I do think it is quite interesting at times.

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La posada sangrienta (1943)

LA POSADA SANGRIENTA (1943)
aka The Bloody Inn
Article 4244 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-6-2013
Directed by Fernando A. Rivero
Featuring Julio Ahuet, Carolina Barret, Alfonso Carillo
Country: Mexico
What it is: An “old dark inn” movie, in Spanish

A young couple’s car breaks down, and they find themselves at an inn where several murders have taken place… and they find themselves under suspicion.

Given that my copy of the movie is in unsubtitled Spanish, I’m making a few guesses as to the plot line, but I don’t think I’m that far off the mark. It’s definitely an “old dark house” variation, though not a particularly inspired one; quite frankly, the whole movie has the air of having been slapped together without much inspiration or thought. The biggest giveaway in this regard is the score, which appears to be a compendium of stock classical music pieces that are at times quite distracting and inappropriate. The comic relief character is one of those types who gets most of his laughs by reacting to everything with cowering cowardice. Outside of that, the two most striking things about this one are the opening scenes involving people listening to a radio show, and the fact that the police detective bears an uncanny resemblance to Bob Hope. There may be some fun to had in the dialogue, but since I couldn’t understand it, that did me no good; as it is, I found this one pretty forgettable.

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The Oompahs (1952)

THE OOMPAHS (1952)
Article 4243 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-5-2013
Directed by Robert Cannon
Featuring the voice of Marvin Miller
Country: USA
What it is: UPA animated cartoon

In a family of musical instruments, staid, traditional Mr. Oompah Pah tries to exert parental authority over his free-spirited jazz-loving son. But will his authority quash the little one’s spirit?

UPA revolutionized animation in the fifties with its spare but stylish abstract look, and this is a good example. The story itself is a fairly common “generation gap” tale, similar in some ways to Warner Brothers’ I WANT TO SINGA. The animation style and the bouncy music are the main attractions here; it even has a bit of poignancy when the father tries to cheer up his son by buying him a dog. All in all, it’s cute, but it’s not up to the level of THE TELL-TALE HEART, just to pick out one of UPA’s better cartoons.

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Midvinterblot (1946)

MIDVINTERBLOT (1946)
aka The Sacrifice
Article 4242 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-4-2013
Directed by Gosta Werner
Featuring Gunnar Bjornstrand, Henrik Schildt, Yngve Nordwall
Country: Sweden
What it is: Abstract horror

In ancient Sweden, a human sacrifice is performed in the dead of winter to bring the sun out.

The above plot description does not just cover the beginning of the movie; it is, in fact, the entire plot of this short. And before you level any accusations of me engaging in plot spoilers, I need to say that the narrator pretty much tells us all of that information in the opening scenes. This makes me suspect that it isn’t the plot that is of primary importance here; the plot’s existence is merely a platform from which the movie hangs its imagery. This would work just fine if the imagery was engaging and hypnotic enough to be a source of fascination in and of itself. Unfortunately, it is only sporadically so; the shots of the various faces waiting for the sacrifice is the best thing here; the rest of the imagery (the shots of the wintry landscape, the scenes of blood being spattered on the various characters) is disappointing, especially when you realize that the short isn’t going to take you anywhere beyond the plot description. The music is also predictable and sometimes a little distracting; some scenes would work better in silence. Perhaps it’s not surprising to discover that this is someone’s first movie; I’ve not seen any of the other works of Gosta Werner, but I hope this one turned out to be a stepping stone to better things.

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Plongeur fantastique (1906)

PLONGEUR FANTASTIQUE (1906)
aka The Fantastic Diver
Article 4241 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-3-2013
Directed by Segundo de Chomon
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Trick film

A swimmer shows off his unique diving styles.

The fantastic content here is that not only does the diver jump into the water; he also jumps out of the water back onto the diving board in an impossible way (through the magic of running the footage backwards). So we have a series of dives juxtaposed with a series of returns to the diving board, and I will credit the movie with having the foresight to not use the same backwards footage that they just ran forwards, so each scene is a little bit different. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that the trick gets old pretty quick; the initial gag is the best in that his first dive is fully clothed, but he returns wearing a swimsuit, but from there, even with the short’s slight running time of about three minutes, it gets tiresome. The Walt Lee book credits Gaston Velle as the director, but IMDB gives it as Chomon, which I assume may be the result that it’s often hard to figure out who actually directed these shorts.

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Plane Daffy (1940)

PLANE DAFFY (1940)
Article 4240 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-2-2013
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Featuring the voices of Sara Berner, Mel Blanc, Robert C. Bruce
Country: USA
What it is: Wartime Warner Brothers cartoon

Secret message couriers are falling prey to the irresistible spy, Hatta Mari. In order to defeat her, they send out their resident woman-hater, Daffy Duck.

You know, after sampling some of the cartoons from the other studios, it really is a treat to return to the Warner Brothers studio during their classic period, and here they’re in top form. This one features Daffy in his manic loose cannon period (before he became the all-too-human antihero in the hands of Chuck Jones), and one thing you can say about him during this era is that you never really know what he’s going to do next. That, combined with the exaggerated speed, split-second comic timing, out-of-left-field gags, superb score (Carl Stalling as always) and voice work (Mel Blanc and others), you barely have time to breathe as this one goes through its paces. Though he’s not as famous as Chuck Jones or Tex Avery, Frank Tashlin was one of the masters of the animated cartoon.

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Les invisibles (1906)

LES INVISIBLES (1906)
aka Invisible Thief
Article 4239 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-31-2013
Directed by Gaston Velle
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: A bizarre trick short

A scientist concocts a potion that can turn people invisible for short periods of time. Two crooks steal the potion and go on a crime spree.

Somehow I think it’s rather apt that the opening scene of this one has the scientist blowing his mind – literally. That’s because this early invisibility short goes off on a couple of mind-blowing tangents before it’s all over. Most of the effects are of the Melies variety, but there’s some original tricks here as well; for example, I love the way they concoct a chase scene through the use of silhouettes at one point. A few effects come out of left field; when the scientist puts his potion away, he stores it in the closet where he keeps a skeleton (which is a joke in itself). When the thieves open the closet door, the skeleton comes to life, goes to pieces and does a dance. Still, the strangest moment comes at the very end, and I won’t give it away, but if anyone out there remembers the old animated series “Hoppity Hooper” and recalls a story known as “The Traffic Zone”, you’ll be prepared for the final scene. I thought this one was going to be lost; I’m delighted to see it still exists, because it’s a lot of fun.

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A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907)

A LITTLE GIRL WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS (1907)
Article 4238 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-29-2013
Directed by J. Searle Dawley and Edwin S. Porter
Featuring Gitchner Hartman, Mr. Lehapman, Bessie Schrednecky
Country: USA
What it is: Christmas fantasy

A young boy from a well-to-do family befriends a young girl from a poverty-stricken household, and discovers that the girl does not believe in Santa Claus because the latter has never visited her at Christmas. The boy decides to fix that problem by taking Santa prisoner and forcing him to deliver presents to the young girl.

You know, underneath the fantasy veneer of this silent short, there is a real attempt to generate compassion for the poor and down-trodden, which I find commendable. However, the way this particular short addresses the issue is rather problematic. The fact that a poverty-stricken young girl might have a much bigger problem believing in that generous supernatural entity than a young boy who grows up in prosperous surroundings makes a certain amount of sense, but only if you ground it in the assumption that said supernatural entity indeed does not exist. That is counter to the assumption this short makes that he does exist, and the central question that arises from this assumption – namely, why does Santa ignore the young girl in his annual gift delivery? – is never addressed. Is the girl naughty? If not (and the short gives us no reason to believe that she is naughty), why does he ignore her? The short gives no answer to this question. Yes, I may be over-analyzing the one a bit, but nonetheless, these are the thoughts that popped into my mind while watching it, and they did cloud my enjoyment of the short. Yet I do have to give the short some credit for having enough of a plot to lend itself to this analysis; after all, I’ve seen quite a few silent shorts from the period that offer me far less material for any such consideration.

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