A Florida Enchantment

The first gay film ever made? Possibly. A woman pops a few exotic pills that enhances her with sexual male behaviour . She takes a fancy to women, creating a slight stir. But to get into their pants she has to dress as a male. Maybe the first ever cross dressing film? Light screwball farce with the usual over-the-top acting from silent flics. By the way. Director Sidney Drew happens to be Drew Barrymore's great Grandfather or Uncle or something like that!

A women finds 4 seeds in an antique chest that turns men into women and vice versa. The fun begins when she takes one and forces her colored maid to take a second and gives the third to a man who annoys her. Plenty of cross dressing and making fun of sexual stereotypes.

Wonderful Florida location shooting, including old Saint Petersburg.

A pioneering work on gay cinema, "A Florida Enchantment" is a delightful and entertaining glimpse at WW1-era America and its social and cultural mores. Based on a book and play of the same name this vintage charmer tells the tale of a woman who ingests strange "ingredients" that transform her into something not particularly favorable in 1914 America. Coming from a 1 % family and with an aging doctor for a suitor madcap hilarity ensues as the young lady indulges in her newfound freedom to everyone's horror and bemusement.

In humorous and still quite scandalous tones the film takes on the then novel topics of bisexuality, cross dressing and transgenderism. Although it has its slow parts and the minimal intertitles make the story a bit hard to follow at little over an hour long the acting and pacing are well done for a film well over a century old. To see the elegant suits of the men, the elaborate gowns of the women, the hats, the antiquated gestures and mannerisms, the amusing blackface, and overall vintage look, feel and vibe hearken one back to a bygone age. What I'll always remember and associate the film with is the sunny, windy, leafy and lush scenery of the Florida background which gives this B & W relic a tropical freshness distinct in movies of the time.

One of the silents that will always remain viewable and relevant because of its quality and subject matter, "A Florida Enchantment" is a must see for historians and silent film fans.

Wanted it to be funny, waited for it to be funny, not even remotely amusing. Could I have done better? Certainly not. Should this have been better? Decidedly so!

Wonderful performance by Edith Storey. I was surprised by the gusto with which she took on a male persona. People have played with gender norms for a long time.