MAGIC BRICKS (1904)
aka Japonaiseries
Article 4720 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-27-2014
Directed by Gaston Velle or Segundo de Chomon
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: “Magic Trick” short

A Japanese magician performs tricks, some of which involve a box and a set of magic bricks.

When this movie first entered my hunt list, I consulted a source of mine on its availability, and my source discovered that this title was the original French title of the movie better known as MAGIC BRICKS, which is relatively easy to find. There are, in fact, two listings for this movie on IMDB, one for each of these titles. There is a problem in reconciling the data on the listings; the two titles have different dates (1904 and 1908), and different directors are attributed to the movie (Velle and Chomon), but I suspect the earlier date and Velle are the correct ones. Like yesterday’s movie, it’s a Japanese-themed “magic trick” short. Most of it is pretty ordinary, but the cinematic effects involving the magic bricks (in which a film of a child playing is taken apart brick by brick) is pretty striking. That’s the moment for which this short is best remembered.

And thanks, doctor kiss, for your help!