Gaston Velle

A fairly venturesome piece of filmmaking for the era: Based on the Jules Verne story, the film utilizes a dozen cuts, irised lenses, panning shots and vivid tints to weave an intrepid and exciting story.

A scientist concocts a potion that can turn people invisible for short periods of time. Two crooks steal the potion and go on a crime spree.

The town-crier summons the inhabitants of the town and they read a manifesto which is posted on a wall announcing the fact that at 4 o'clock on that day the Lord Mayor will receive bids for the building of a town clock.

Gaston Velle's 'Les Fleurs Animées' was screened by the Australian-based Corrick Family Entertainers as part of their variety act. In their advertising the Corricks described the detailed, hand-coloured production as 'The finest "Color" Film of the Twentieth Century'. Simple camera tricks create a magic fairy story in this tale of angry flowers exacting revenge on a man who has wantonly destroyed their garden.

A man hides his valuables under his mattress before going to sleep, blissfully unaware of the two burglars on his roof.

This is in poor condition and the hand colouring is a little rough around the edges compared to the others, but it contains some impressive ‘appearing’ effects as pieces of paper from a giant book turn into people and then back to paper in the punchline. It’s repetitive, but enjoyably trippy.

A woman, who tried to smuggle goods under her clothes, is brought to an excise duty office for further inspection.

An old astronomer named Nigadimus has been transfixed by a star for a long time. He had but one thought: to travel to it, to declare his love for it! But how? A simple but ingenious solution-- A giant bubble. An Italian production, this is Velle's longer version of his own film for Pathé, released the same year. It uses similar sets, but different props, as well as a different ending.

An Italian movie about Othello.

An old astronomer has been transfixed by a star for a long time. He had but one thought: to travel to it, to declare his love for it! But how? A simple but ingenious solution-- A giant bubble. Velle remade the film for Italian studio Cines in the same year.

A cook mistakenly throws his kitchen boy into a huge pot while preparing a stew. Distraught, he attempts to make up for his mistake. Alas, Mephisto decides to get involved.

A magician shows tricks with money.

A magician and some assistants put up a series of posters of music hall acts in a frame. Then the magician brings each poster to life.

A boy is put to bed by his mother, but when she leaves the room, he pulls out a book. Dropping off to sleep, he begins to dream. The wall behind him transforms into a screen, with a portrait of Jules Verne. The boy imagines the starry night sky, with comets shooting by. The gondola of a balloon parks outside his window. He climbs aboard, ascending over a skyline and harbor.

This has more of a clear narrative than most of the films in the set although it’s still quite odd and random compared to today’s films. There are some effectively surreal and creepy sequences in this imaginative short, such as the devil’s face appearing in an egg and spewing coins as well as the finale where our protagonist is sent to an egg-filled hell.

A magician enters a café and sets about introducing his act, but a waiter interferes and throws him out the door. Disgruntled, the magician decides to take revenge, and he has more than one trick up his sleeve.

A beautiful seductive fairy makes gentle winged creatures appear.

An evil magician visits the rajah's palace to perform his magic tricks, but he also steals a valuable casket making his getaway aboard a dragon. The rajah pursues the wizard to a subterranean cavern.

After a quarrel Pedro walks out of the cafe leaving his fiancée (Stacia Napierkowska) alone. Heartbroken, she visits the flower garden and there, flowers metamorphose into women and begin to dance.

Little Bob stages his mechanical toys in a series of charming performances.