European Rest Cure

This is quite an ambitious film from Edison directed by Edwin S. Porter. With a running time of just under twenty minutes it's longer than Porter's groundbreaking The Great Train Robbery from the previous year, although its episodic structure suggests it may have been sold and screened in shorter versions. Some of the material - such as the panoramic view of New York and the storm scene look as though they may be earlier actualities inserted into the film to pad out the running time.

The story is fairly simple, following the mishaps of a wealthy American tourist as he explores Europe - with an unexpected diversion to Africa between sojourns in Italy and Germany to visit the pyramids of Egypt. It's fairly amusing for the period, but most of the scenes run far too long.

European Rest Cure, The (1904)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Interesting film from the Edison Studios about a cruise across Europe. Considering it's 1904 there's not any story being told but the film seems to have been made so that Americans could see various popular places overseas. The entire film was shot in the Bronx with sets looking like the other countries.

How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the NY Harold Personal Columns (1904)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Another Edison short this time has a man placing a personal add only to be chased through the street by dozens of women. Not too many laughs here but you gotta wonder if Keaton saw this when he made Seven Chances nearly twenty years later.

Nervy Nat Kisses the Bride (1904)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The title says it all in this Edison short. The big highlight is the final stunt where Nat gets thrown off a moving train.

Scarecrow Pump, The (1904)

*** (out of 4)

A farmer turns his water pump into a scarecrow. Runs just over a minute but the final gag is quite funny.

"European Rest Cure" sounds as if the movie is going to be a travelogue where the audience gets to see all sorts of amazing sites from around Europe. Well, this isn't exactly what you get in this Edison film. Like most of their pictures, it's actually shot in a sound stage and all the European sites are actually painted backdrops. Now this is NOT because the filmmakers were being particularly sleazy or awful...this was how other studios often did things. And, audiences of the day would have expected no different, although when seen today it is less than thrilling!

The story takes a man in need of a vacation on a trip abroad. The purpose is rest and relaxation and the message seems to be that you'd better just stay home instead! This xenophobic travel film takes the poor man to places such as to see the Blarney Stone in Ireland, to Egypt (Europe??) to see and fall off the pyramids, a bath in Germany, etc.....all of which were awful. Overall, while this seems pretty dull today, for 1904 it was clever and the jokes not all bad. I especially liked seeing the poor man by the end of the film....as he really looked as if he'd benefit from a vacation!

This feature about an American who goes on a "European Rest Cure", with comic results, is at least mildly amusing. Most of it is reasonably entertaining, and it has some interesting aspects. The beginning has some interesting photography, with a view of Manhattan Island somewhat similar to that in the 1903 film "Sky Scrapers of New York City from North River". It also a storm at sea scene that must have involved some patient waiting for the right conditions.

The story itself begins with the man's travels after the ship arrives in Europe. The material is episodic and rather uneven, though a couple of the scenes work petty well. Many 'comedies' of recent years have used up a lot more screen time while providing fewer reasons to watch. Overall, it's probably about average for its era and its genre.

Another super production from Edwin S. Porter, lasting twenty minutes. The unidentified tourist is sent to Europe for his health. He is dropped on his head while kissing the Blarney Stone, robbed by bandits in Italy and falls off a mountain in the Alps. Don't confuse this one with NATIONAL LAMPOON'S EUROPEAN VACATION. This one is actually funny.