Adventures of William Tell
About Adventures of William Tell
In a studio, an unfinished statue of William Tell stands on a pedestal. A clown sticks a clay arm and a clay head onto it and sets a brick on the head to hold the clay. When he turns away, the statue becomes a living William Tell.
Cast & crew
More about Adventures of William Tell
Georges Méliès made the trick film for Star Film in 1898. The action above is the scene description that circulated in period catalogues. No player is named.
Themes
Making
Méliès stops the camera after the clown turns, swaps the statue for a performer, and starts again so the clay seems to wake up.
Technique
The statue's change into a man is a stop-substitution inside the studio set.
Notes
- The living figure appears by substitution: the clown looks away, and the statue is replaced.
- The brick on the clay head is the last prop before the trick.
- Star Film, not an Edison unit, produced it. Some English catalogue blurbs were later reprinted by American distributors.
- The French title used in Méliès lists is the William Tell adventure of 1898.
- No cast is recorded.
Scenes
- The clown sets a brick on the clay head and turns his back.
- The pedestal holds a living William Tell instead of the statue.
