THE AERIAL SUBMARINE (1910)
Article 4673 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-6-2014
Directed by Walter R. Booth
Cast unknown
Country: UK
What it is: Science fiction action adventure

Two youngsters are kidnapped by pirates who have a submarine that can also fly.

Here’s another title that ended up on my “ones that got away” list, but finally a video of the silent short was posted online by BFI. It’s pretty straightforward action/adventure fare, and many of the special effects are created with animation. In some ways, it’s like a variation of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, and it’s interesting to note that the leader of the pirates is female. Still, if there’s a lesson to be learned from this short, it’s that good help is hard to find; the pirates are finally defeated as the result of gross incompetence on the part of the submarine’s own crew. This one is quite entertaining.