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.

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.

Like other reviews, i had the same reaction when watching it: it reminds me of National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) because it's about touring in Europe and having funny misadventures. The big difference here is that the locations are not real but just sets: Egypt and Alps are funny because they look very like background. The other change (or rather evolution) is that this Grandpa travels by boat and not by planes! And as others wrote, it's a great moment of cinema to watch the departure of a real Cunar liner: the departure was the same as for the future Titanic but the boat size is definitely smaller, even if we can see that it's full of passengers. With that, we have as bonus a wonderful view of NYC docks by the way. I'm surprised to not have read the usual negative comments about discrimination because the locals are all depicted dumb or thieves (not communities for europeans?)... I invite you to my review for Fights of Nations (1907) to my feeling about this issue and watching this movie, i understand one more thing: when those old movies were shot, travels and news from others countries were not what they are today: actually i think almost all people would have never met an outlander (except in books or in cinema) so other countries were built with imagination and clichés. Anyway, this short movie is quite funny and this is exactly the same kind of fun that the Griswold would meet too!

"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!

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.