Clown, chien et ballon

Clown, chien et ballon (1905)

*** (out of 4)

Entertaining film from French filmmaker Alice Guy is set on a stage where a clown walks out with a balloon that he throws in the air. From here a dog runs out and the two of them bounce the balloon all over the set. Coming in at just under two-minutes, I'm sure most people would view this today and not see a point in watching it. As a film buff I've always found these early movies to be incredibly entertaining. No, there's no plot or any real action in regards to how we see movies today but back in the day this is what was sold to the public for entertainment. From a historic side alone this film is certainly, at least, interesting and there's no question that the dog was charming.

A clown comes on stage bouncing a balloon. Soon a small dog joins him in the fun.

This is a very stage-bound production. Occasionally the balloon bounces off the backdrop. Sometimes it goes offstage and is tossed back.

Really, it's a fine movie for lovers of dogs. It's a lot of fun to watch the dog bounce the ball back and forth while the clown performs the occasional pratfall. I doubt, however, that cat lovers will be particularly amused.

I suspect that this was one of the series of stage performances that Madame Guy filmed that included a regular series of sound films. This one does not call for a specific score, although "The Whistler and His Dog" would serve very well.