Off to Bloomingdale Asylum | 1901 | Comedy, Fantasy

Title: Off to Bloomingdale Asylum | 1901 | Comedy, Fantasy Director: Georges Méliès Studio: Star Film Company Runtime: 1 minute Format: Black and white, silent Country: France Language: Silent Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Short --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Omnibus arrives 00:00:12 First transformations 00:00:24 Back-and-forth metamorphosis 00:00:36 Escalating antics 00:00:48 Finale and exit --- Summary: A horse-drawn omnibus pulls into a nighttime street scene and disgorges a troupe whose appearance repeatedly changes in a burst of quick trick effects. Performers flip from dark, ragged costumes to white clown attire and back again as the shot-stage tableau becomes a carousel of visual metamorphoses. The film is a compact example of early trick photography used for comic effect, with rhythm and repetition driving a playful depiction of disorder and rapid transformation. --- Background: Produced by Georges Méliès for the Star Film Company, this minute-long trick film appears in the Star Film catalog as no. 359 and circulated under multiple titles; in the United States it was known as Off to Bloomingdale Asylum and in Britain as Off to Bedlam, while the French title is L’Omnibus des toqués blancs et noirs. A surviving print confirms it as a typical Méliès studio tableau, photographed on a painted set and built around substitution splices and quick costume changes. --- Trivia: The film’s U.S. release title references the Bloomingdale Asylum, a well-known psychiatric institution associated with New York. The original French title translates roughly to “The Omnibus of the White and Black Madcaps,” highlighting the emphasis on costume contrast and transformation. It is listed as Star Film catalog no. 359, placing it among Méliès’s early-1900s series of short “trick” comedies. Contemporary prints survive, and the film has appeared in modern compilations of Méliès’s work. The action is contained within a single fixed camera setup, typical of Méliès’s theatrical staging in this period. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Studio / Distributor: Star Film Company Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: No --- Hashtags: GeorgesMelies SilentFilm PublicDomain EarlyCinema ShortFilm FrenchCinema TrickFilm 1901 This video was sourced from Internet Archive. Originally uploaded by bill.barstad@gmail.com. https://archive.org/details/Off_to_Bloomingdale_Asylum