This is one of the very best of Georges Melies's many 'trick' films. Interestingly, the English-language prints of this film render its title as 'The Black Imp' rather than the more accurate 'The Black Devil' ... probably because English-language audiences would interpret the word 'devil' to mean THE Devil, and presumably His Satanic Majesty has got more important things to do than just fool about with furniture.
The major item in Melies's cinematic bag of tricks was the jump cut -- in which the camera's motion is stopped while an object or person is moved to a new position, then the camera is restarted -- so that something or somebody suddenly appears, disappears, changes position, or switches place with something else. More than fifty years after Melies, this same camera trick was still being used in such sophisticated fare as 'Bewitched' and 'Lost in Space'. One problem with the jump cut is that the actors on screen who aren't part of the transformation often have difficulty staying absolutely motionless during the transition ... so, the effect of the jump cut is often diluted because somebody who wasn't supposed to move has unintentionally 'jumped' to another position, impairing the illusion. This happened far too often in Melies's films. Even if all the actors behave themselves, there's often a shift in the lighting or some other unintended change which calls attention to the jump in the film.
SLIGHT SPOILERS. One reason why 'The Black Devil' delights me is because the jump cuts are unusually seamless. There are none of those lurching transitions which ruin so many jump cuts. Also, Melies has used the gimmick much more imaginatively here than in several of his other films. It's simple enough to use the jump cut to make one object appear, disappear or move by itself. In 'The Black Devil', very amusingly, Melies uses camera sorcery to make a long series of identical chairs appear in rapid-fire succession from the same point in midair. Unexpected and hilarious!
I was especially impressed by one particular jump cut, due to the physical difficulties for the actor involved. We see a bearded man attempt to put his coat in a drawer while the Black Devil keeps magically rearranging the furniture. At one point, the bureau materialises on top of the table, forcing the poor bearded bloke to climb onto the table to open a bureau drawer. Instantly, the bureau and the table both move to other locations ... leaving the man in midair for just a fraction of an instant before gravity claims him.
Now, think about what was involved in that shot. In order to get the effect, the actor had to suspend himself several feet above the floor while the camera operator checked his lighting, and so forth. The man must remain suspended until the camera starts, then he must fall immediately. If he dangles in midair for even a second, we'll have time to see how the trick is done. Thanks to the miracle of Rewind, I was able to replay this section of the film several times, until at last I saw how the actor was able to keep himself suspended till the crucial moment.
Elsewhere in this same short film, we see part of the scenery put on fire, deliberately. I was quite surprised by this, as stage sets (and inexpensive film sets) are often highly flammable, and an intentional flame can rapidly get out of control. But Melies shows a sure hand here, and nothing happens which isn't in the script.
Although Georges Melies's films are typically charming and funny, modern viewers will often easily spot the joins and junctures where his stage tricks are trundled into place. 'The Black Devil', refreshingly, is a seamless piece of screen magic, and it's still quite funny after all these years. My rating: 10 out of 10.
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