Ten Ladies in an Umbrella
About Ten Ladies in an Umbrella
Méliès plays a magician on a stage whose backdrop is lettered Galathea Théâtre. The trick named in the title, made with substitution splices and dissolves, brings a group of women out of one umbrella. They wear Grecian costumes; a lyre and auloi sit among the props, and the cloth behind them shows a classical landscape with a small temple.
Cast & crew
More about Ten Ladies in an Umbrella
Star Film numbers 506–507. Sold in the United States as Ten Ladies in One Umbrella and in Britain as Ten Girls in One Umbrella. David Shepard's 2008 restoration uses the title Ten Ladies in an Umbrella.
Themes
Background
A 1903 Star Film substitution trick, built on a classical set rather than a modern drawing-room.
In film history
Writers on Méliès read the magician here as a modern Pygmalion, making the women he shows.
Technique
The appearances are substitution splices and dissolves.
Preservation
A paper print survives at the Library of Congress. David Shepard restored it in 2008.
Notes
- The set inscription 'Galathea Théâtre' points the trick at the Pygmalion story.
- A paper print is at the Library of Congress.
- Flicker Alley put it in Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema.
Scenes
- Women appear from a single umbrella on the Galathea Théâtre set.
Influenced by
- The Pygmalion myth
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (La Parapluie fantastique (1903).webm)
- Flicker Alley DVD: Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema
