The '?' Motorist (1906)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Walter R. Booth

Release Date:

1906 (UK)

Genre:

Fantasy | Short | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A British trick film in which a motorist ends up driving around the rings of Saturn.

Plot Keywords:

Saturn | Outer Space | Police | Flying Car | Reattach

Also Known As:

Questionmark Motorist (UK) (informal title)
The ? Motorist (UK) (alternative spelling)
The Mad Motorist (UK) (informal title)

Runtime:

3 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Robert W. Paul

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the film's final shot, a woman observing the crew is visible.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Silent Britain (2006) (TV)

A Fun Novelty Feature

This old curio is good fun to watch and is very creative in using the techniques available to film-makers at the time. It starts with a car driving along - in itself still something of a novelty then - and the car quickly gets involved in a series of fantastical adventures. It's filled with special effects that are excellent for the era, and that are still entertaining to watch. It gives the feeling of a free-wheeling, uninhibited approach, and yet the quality shows it to have been very carefully made. In its historical context it is also interesting, as a look at attitudes towards automobiles and the changes they brought.