L’EVENTAIL ANIME (1909)
aka The Animated Fan
Article 4656 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-15-2014
Directed by Etienne Arnaud and Emile Cohl
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: History of the fan

The fan is portrayed in its various incarnations throughout history.

I’m assuming the Emile Cohl sequence of this short is the opening special effects sequence, in which an animated fan opens up and various women waving fans appear in the feathers; that’s it for the fantastic content as well. From there we get a serious of live-action set-pieces in which we see various women from history and around the world using their fans. That’s pretty much all this short features. It might have been more interesting if we saw the women and their fans in close-up, but they’re all medium shots with not particularly engrossing events happening around them. As it is, it’s only mildly interesting and not much fun, and those who are fond of Cohl’s animation will find little of interest here.