Punch and Judy
About Punch and Judy
Children watch an outdoor puppet booth, Guignol in the French release and Punch and Judy in the English one. The puppets fight with sticks, jump off the stage, and become small people scrapping on the ground. The puppet master runs out to herd them back. They grow to his size and pull him into the fight. They get away. The children bury him in confetti.
Cast & crew
More about Punch and Judy
Georges Méliès directed it. Star Film sold it in 1906 as numbers 871–873. The French title is L'Anarchie chez Guignol. The complete negative is 40 meters, timed at 2 minutes 30 seconds at 14 frames a second. The full film is presumed lost. A short fragment turned up in time for a 2008 DVD.
Themes
Making
Méliès starts with a puppet show and then lets the figures leave the booth and grow. The last gag is confetti on the showman.
Preservation
The complete film is presumed lost. A brief fragment survives.
Notes
- The surviving piece is the crowd at the booth, not the whole brawl.
- A catalog timing of the fragment is 1 minute.
- It is its own film, number 871–873, not a trim from another Méliès title.
- The English title Punch and Judy and the French title L'Anarchie chez Guignol name the same booth.
Scenes
- The puppets jump off the stage and fight on the ground.
- They grow to human size and tangle the puppet master.
- The children cover him with confetti.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (L'Anarchie chez Guignol (1906).webm)
