DREAM OF A RAREBIT FIEND (director: Edwin S. Porter; screenwriter: based on the comic strip of the same name by Winsor McKay; cast: Jack Brawn (Dreamer); Runtime: 7; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Thomas Edison; YouTube; 1906-silent)
“The film pays homage to the long history of film.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Based on the comic strip of the same name by Winsor McKay. This was the Edison Company’s most popular film release in 1906, selling 192 copies during the year. Edwin S. Porter (“Jack and The Beanstalk”/”The Prince and The Pauper”/”Zaza”)directs this cartoonish short, where a man (Jack Brawn) dines alone in a restaurant and an excess of food (Welsh rarebit) and alcoholic drinks cause him to have a nightmare when he retires for the night in his apartment.It’s so violent, with little devils beating atop his head with pitchforks, that the dreamer has to cling onto his bedposts for dear life.The film pays homage to the long history of film and the technical advances in the industry.
REVIEWED ON 4/1/2012 GRADE: B
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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