Barnum's Trunk
A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.
Puce Moment is a short 6 minute film by Kenneth Anger, author of the Hollywood Babylon books, filmed in 1949. Puce Moment resulted from the unfinished short film Puce Women. The film opens with a camera watching 1920s style flapper gowns being taken off a dress rack. The dresses are removed and danced off the rack to music. (The original soundtrack was Verdi opera music; in the 1960s, Anger re-released the film with a new psychedelic folk-rock soundtrack performed by Jonathan Halper.) A long-lashed woman, Yvonne Marquis, dresses in the purple puce gown and walks to her vanity to apply perfume. She lies on a chaise lounge which then begins to move around the room and eventually out to a patio. Borzois appear and she prepares to take them for a walk.
A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.
A drunk staggers into his apartment and falls asleep. He dreams he climbs to the top of a building and flies to the moon, then falls back to earth. When he wakes, still drunk, he is in his apartment.
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.
Gaston Velle's 'Les Fleurs Animées' was screened by the Australian-based Corrick Family Entertainers as part of their variety act. In their advertising the Corricks described the detailed, hand-coloured production as 'The finest "Color" Film of the Twentieth Century'. Simple camera tricks create a magic fairy story in this tale of angry flowers exacting revenge on a man who has wantonly destroyed their garden.
Modern Americans think that the movies learned to talk in 1927 when Al Jolson opened his mouth in THE JAZZ SINGER, but sound pictures had a much longer history. Edison envisaged combining the phonograph with motion pictures even before they had been perfected and there is a test sequence from 1895. By the time this 'phonoscene' had been made, Alice Guy had been directing a series of them and there was a series in production in Germany, too. Yet true synchronization remained a problem, what with records wearing out and film breaking until the perfection of sound on film itself.
A beautiful seductive fairy makes gentle winged creatures appear.
A barber's customer is not accustomed to the blade. Luckily, the coiffeur has a modern solution.
In this picture there is a limited amount of action in the pose. As the curtains are drawn aside the shell appears shut. It gradually opens, disclosing the model curled up in a recumbent position. She slowly arises as if awakening, and gracefully assumes the final position of the pose.
Captivated by a vision of beckoning women, a man dives into the ocean, and soon finds himself walking on the ocean floor. After encountering numerous sea creatures, he comes to a giant oyster. When the oyster is opened, a strange adventure begins for the diver.
A magician charms a caterpillar and turns it into a butterfly woman.
In an outdoor setting, a magician makes pond nymphs and frog people appear out of water and thin air.
An old woman begs a young men to carry her heavy bundle of firewood. The man refuses: he rather goes to sleep. The woman, who turns out to be a witch, punishes him with terrible apparitions.
Mr. Hurry-Up gets dressed in a rush, and then races down to breakfast. After a few quick bites and a couple gulps of coffee, he races out the door and heads to work. While working at his desk, he begins to suffer from a painful toothache. Though he wants to get it dealt with as quickly as possible, Mr. Hurry-Up soon learns that some things should not be done hastily.
Animated film featuring the hand of Walter R. Booth drawing a coster and his donah who come to life and dance. The hand then crumples up the paper and dispenses it in the form of confetti. (BFI)
A frog hops around a magic fountain.
A pickpocket manages to escape the police through a series of fantastic tricks. The director is this film is unknown.
A woman enters a room with a man. She creates a duplicate of him and changes his personality by throwing his clothes from one man to the next.
A child dreams of the Bible tale, reenacted by toys.
A mischievous witch uses her dark magic on an innocent cyclist until he is all confused. He is forced to pedal backwards and at the same time, his bike changes shape anytime the witch wants it to. (stumfilm.dk)
A mother confronts Death as to why he has to take her young boy. And he shows her the future to explain why he need to be eliminated.