Fifty Before ’50: Four by Méliès

<p>&nbsp;<i>by JB</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRbdF8PYLBrbX_NaC19NXeSiqgr-iSaUZ02i8pMZ_W7IrU2Rg5BWEkotcZ8dUq05c2zp09kqHyZxe2pPnzVVhjNFxSzprYpNuybDk07RbEbBw3Rir7kXgpp8ti5n8WAhZUFcJYtnrZLRntaYSXSxvy15hZF8OP_6ZB7duGmiaSuPSb0GrhGPiMrLLNaI/s4512/MeliesHeader.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3159" data-original-width="4512" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRbdF8PYLBrbX_NaC19NXeSiqgr-iSaUZ02i8pMZ_W7IrU2Rg5BWEkotcZ8dUq05c2zp09kqHyZxe2pPnzVVhjNFxSzprYpNuybDk07RbEbBw3Rir7kXgpp8ti5n8WAhZUFcJYtnrZLRntaYSXSxvy15hZF8OP_6ZB7duGmiaSuPSb0GrhGPiMrLLNaI/w400-h280/MeliesHeader.jpeg" width="400" /></a></i></div>A few (extremely) short subjects for a boring Tuesday morning.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br />

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George Méliès is, by popular acclaim, the father of fantastic cinema. Born to a wealthy family in 1861, he eschewed his family’s boot business for a life in the theater. He invented dozens of illusions for the Theater Robert-Houdin in Paris, named for the French magician who would later supply young American Eric Weiss with his “nom de magic.” Méliès eventually bought the theater.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbZZfxZ8o6nTOrwT3x6g1BEYR5J_N2SEqhoCMPNxFn2rkekshKPA0RAza-1UqViF0Nk8QLkiq8mIViXBiMmnB8qpV-VgS2EF_-OaACkIcJd1Nc-RMHY4-qsxWRboYjCdPOMLP0cAbAddnrvp3Yf6U1pEuQ_7zbUBgLHXn21KjOPFB6ZDyi0BoybslDgE/s595/Melies1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="595" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbZZfxZ8o6nTOrwT3x6g1BEYR5J_N2SEqhoCMPNxFn2rkekshKPA0RAza-1UqViF0Nk8QLkiq8mIViXBiMmnB8qpV-VgS2EF_-OaACkIcJd1Nc-RMHY4-qsxWRboYjCdPOMLP0cAbAddnrvp3Yf6U1pEuQ_7zbUBgLHXn21KjOPFB6ZDyi0BoybslDgE/w400-h226/Melies1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>In 1895, he attended the Lumiere Brothers’ first public film exhibition. The Lumieres refused to sell Méliès a camera and projector, so Méliès travelled to London and persuaded Robert Paul to sell him the equipment he needed. The theater Robert-Houdin soon started showing short film programs between magic acts; most of the films directed by Méliès himself. Méliès was prolific: he made 78 short films in 18