The Black Imp
About The Black Imp
A black imp jumps from the bed to the table and from a chair to a couch in a hotel room. A traveler arrives with the landlady and her husband. Chairs and the couch slide, vanish, and change place. The imp shows himself. The guest is left staring.
Cast & crew
More about The Black Imp
Georges Méliès made the trick film for Star Film, catalog numbers 683–685. The French title is Le Diable noir. It runs 4 minutes. Méliès plays the hotel guest. Wikipedia notes that two different versions exist.
Themes
Making
Méliès stops the camera to shift the furniture and to pop the imp in and out of the set.
Preservation
A copy is on Wikimedia Commons. Two versions of the film are known.
Notes
- The imp is in the room before the guest is shown in.
- The furniture moves with nobody touching it.
- Star Film sold it as numbers 683 through 685.
Scenes
- The imp leaps from the bed to the table before the guest arrives.
- The couch disappears while the landlady is still in the room.
- The imp appears in front of the guest.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Le Diable noir (1905).webm)
