Onesime, Clockmaker
About Onesime, Clockmaker
Onésime mends clocks in a shop that is failing. A letter says he inherits from his uncle, but only in twenty years. He tampers with the town's central clock. Dancers, motor cars, building work, and shop fittings all race. Forty days later, counted as those twenty years, he presents himself at the notary for the money.
Cast & crew
More about Onesime, Clockmaker
Jean Durand directed this Gaumont comedy from a scenario by Louis Feuillade, with Roméo Bosetti producing, Paul Castanet on the camera, and Robert-Jules Garnier designing the sets. The negative is listed at 150 meters. A French release date on record is November 1, 1912.
Themes
Look
Paul Castanet operated the camera. The gag is fast motion: a building rises, clothes are fitted, and a child reaches adulthood while Onésime waits out his forty days.
Preservation
A print is on Wikimedia Commons. A DVD transfer runs 5 minutes 23 seconds.
Notes
- Ernest Bourbon plays Onésime.
- Gaston Modot is the child who grows up in a rush, and he also appears as a mason and as a man in a clothing shop.
- Berthe Dagmar plays a married woman and a dancer. Édouard Grisollet is the concierge who brings the letter.
- English-language titles include Onesime, Clockmaker and Simple Simon Clock Maker.
Scenes
- Onésime resets the central clock and the street outside jumps to double speed.
- He walks into the notary's office when the sped-up calendar says the twenty years are up.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Onesime Horloger (1912).webm)
