An Obstacle Course
About An Obstacle Course
A village mayor stages an obstacle race. Men and women crawl through barrels, change into costumes along the route, and climb walls and cross water. A fat man and a fat woman are the favorites. After a string of collisions, the fat man wins, and his rival is furious.
Cast & crew
More about An Obstacle Course
Alice Guy directed this Gaumont chase comedy in 1906. The catalog and Wikidata list her as Alice Guy-Blaché. The French title is Une course d'obstacles. Gaumont number 1442. A Gaumont record gives 147 meters and a production window of July 1905 to July 1906. Wikidata and a French film note both say 5 minutes. The race was shot outdoors.
Themes
Background
Gaumont released it as a comic chase staged as a village race with obstacles and a winner.
Making
Gaumont's 1906 credit is Alice Guy. Wikidata records the director as Alice Guy-Blaché, the form used in the catalog.
Music
Silent.
Preservation
A print is on the Internet Archive. Gaumont's length is 147 meters. Wikidata says 5 minutes.
Notes
- The Gaumont blurb calls the picture très comique and names no individual players.
- Barrels, costume changes, walls, and stretches of water are the obstacles.
- French flags mark stages of the course in the outdoor shots.
- The Internet Archive copy uses a truncated French title in its identifier.
Scenes
- Racers crawl through barrels laid on the ground.
- They stop to pull on costumes before the next obstacle.
- The fat man finishes first and the fat woman fumes.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-une-course-dobstacle)
