Voyage Round a Star
(Bioscope Film Catalogue Synopsis)
Local libraries can be great. Mine helped me, through an inter-library loan from a mid-western university, to get microfilm reels of very early British film catalogs.
To me, it's kind of cool to see the original descriptions written to promote the films.
Considering the length of these movies and the fact that they were without dialogue (even title cards) it's almost like having a "mini-script". Some are pretty detailed and are even accompanied with film scenes.This 1906 film was made by Gaston Velle in France. I'm not entirely sure how it wound up in a Biograph catalogue but they probably either pirated it or were the legitimate distributors in England. (Adding to my confusion is that Don Willis in "Horror and Science Fiction Films: A Checklist" mentions that it was remade in Italy.)
The entry for Voyage Round a Star is very short. So, without further ado, here's the whole darn thing!!
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Voyage Round a Star
An old Astronomer, having adored for many years a certain star, has but one idea, and, that is, to go up to it and declare his passion. But how is this to be done? Seeing, one day, some children playing bubbles, he thinks that will be a fine way to visit his star, and promptly has some soap mixed and goes up in one of the bubbles.
Arriving at his destination, the lady of the star receives him with every kindness, brings forward everything she can think of to amuse him. Beautiful girls dance before him, in fact, he is quite overcome with the reception he receives.
But trouble is ahead. Jupiter, in a great rage, appears angry to think anyone should make love to his star, and throws our poor professor out, who lands on a lightning conductor, which soon makes an end of him.
Duration, 8 minutes.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The film exists (in one version or the other) at archives in Berlin, Madrid, Uruguay and Vienna, the British Film Institute, New York's Museum of Modern Art and the collection of film preservationist Serge Bromberg. I only wish my library could hook me up with one of them!!
written: 8/23/2002