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A Diabolo Nightmare

1907

Cat no. 215271

One man's obsession with a diabolo sparks chaos and an undersea hallucination.

Obsessed with his new toy, a diabolo - or 'the devil on two sticks' - a once respectable clerk loses his job and causes mayhem in the streets and delight underwater. Fired from his job for playing with his diabolo, he wanders the streets entranced by the new toy. Waking early the next morning, he embarks on an adventure that sees him catch a lift with an airship, drop into a lady's bedroom, dupe a policemen, steal another diabolo and wander into an undersea world where he teaches Neptune and his daughters how to work the diabolo. But was it all a dream?

Keywords

Comedy; Early cinema; Obsession; Toys

Background Information

Despite being credited to Arthur Melbourne-Cooper in Audrey Wadowska's filmography, there is no reference to the film in Tjitte de Vries and Ati Mul's book 'They Thought It Was A Marvel' and the BFI Screenonline website credits the film to W.R. Booth of the Charles Urban Trading Company. Further research/clarification required.

  • Maker : Arthur Melbourne-Cooper

  • Distributor : Urban

  • Maker : W.R. Booth

  • Production company : Charles Urban Trading Company

Manifestations

A Diabolo Nightmare

  • Barcode
    INV359549
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    MP4 H264 digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:06:17
    Modification Date
    26/09/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    728574
  • Barcode
    INV391884
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    MP4 H264 digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:06:17
    Modification Date
    26/09/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    728233
  • Barcode
    INV378025
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    MP4 H264 digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:06:17
    Modification Date
    26/09/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    727893
  • Barcode
    INV344342
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    DV digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:04:01
    Modification Date
    03/09/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    726038
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV349866
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    master digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:04:01
    Modification Date
    25/08/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    723026
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV267656
    Canonical Identifier
    2008/47
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Details
    Carrier Type
    16mm film
    Colour System
    tinted
    Colour Type
    colour+bw
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:29:00
    Has Image
    Y
    Has Sound
    N
    Identifier
    Image Polarity
    pos
    Modification Date
    15/08/2008
    Parts
    Reference
    675984
    Sound
    silent

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