Little Mischief

1899 Comedy 45 seconds Directed by J. Stuart Blackton

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About Little Mischief

A father sits reading a newspaper. His daughter tickles his neck with a long straw. He waves the fly away. She moves the straw to his ear, and he flaps the paper around his head. She keeps on until he tips over backward, chair and all.

Cast & crew

More about Little Mischief

J. Stuart Blackton directed. Albert E. Smith was the cameraman with him. The Library of Congress dates the shooting to September 1898–February 1899 on Vitagraph's rooftop studio in New York. Edison released it in March 1900. Catalogue lengths are 45 and 50 feet.

Themes

  • a straw mistaken for a fly
  • a father dumped out of his chair
  • newspaper
  • straw
  • father and daughter
  • pratfall
  • Edison

Making

The whole gag is one indoor setup: newspaper, straw, chair.

Look

Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton photographed it on the Vitagraph roof in New York, in daylight, from a fixed camera.

Preservation

The Library of Congress catalogues the Edison release. A 28-second copy is on Wikimedia Commons.

Notes

  • The Edison catalogue of July 1901, no. 105, prints the straw-and-chair synopsis and gives 45 feet.
  • AFI also records a 50-foot length.
  • The Wikimedia file runs 28 seconds.
  • Blackton and Smith produced it under their Vitagraph arrangement for Edison.

Scenes

  • The girl moves the straw from his neck to his ear.
  • He goes over backward with the chair.

Also available

  • Library of Congress

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