Comedian Paulus Singing (French: Paulus chantant) was a series of five French short silent films made in 1897 by Georges Méliès, starring the popular café-concert singer Paulus (real name Jean-Paul Habans, 1845–1908). The films were designed for a café-concert stunt in which Paulus would sing behind the screen as the films were projected, giving the illusion of a sound film.[2] All five films are currently presumed lost.[3]
The English and French release titles, as well as the Star Film Company catalog numbers, for the films were as follows:[3]
Comedian Paulus Singing "Derrière l'Omnibus" (Paulus chantant: Derrière l'Omnibus, 88)
Comedian Paulus Singing "Coquin de Printemps" (Paulus chantant: Coquin de Printemps, 89)
Comedian Paulus Singing "Duelliste Marsellais" (Paulus chantant: Duelliste marseillais, 90)
Paulus chantant: Père la Victoire (no English title or catalogue number)
Paulus chantant: En revenant d'la revue (no English title or catalogue number)
Production and releaseedit
Paulus, then nearing the end of his long and celebrated career as a pro-Boulangist entertainer, approached Méliès with the concept for the stunt.[4] The series was filmed at Méliès's theater of illusions, the Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris.[2] In order to provide enough light for his film camera, Méliès included fifteen arc lamps and fifteen mercury-vapor lamps in his setup, making the Comedian Paulus Singing series the first known use of artificial light in a motion picture.[4]
Three of the films (Derrière l'Omnibus, Coquin de Printemps, and Duelliste Marsellais) were sold through the catalogs of Méliès's studio, the Star Film Company, for both French and American film markets.[3] The other two, which featured Paulus singing hymns of praise to the controversial political figure Georges Ernest Boulanger, were filmed for the café-concert performance but not included in the Star Film catalogs,[2] as Méliès himself was a fervent anti-Boulangist.[5]
Referencesedit
^Hammond, Paul (1974). Marvellous Méliès. London: Gordon Fraser. p. 136. ISBN0900406380.
^ abcSadoul, Georges (1970). Georges Méliès. Paris: Éditions Seghers. p. 137.
^ abcFrazer, John (1979). Artificially Arranged Scenes: The Films of Georges Méliès. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co. p. 243. ISBN0816183686.
comedian, paulus, singing, french, paulus, chantant, series, five, french, short, silent, films, made, 1897, georges, méliès, starring, popular, café, concert, singer, paulus, real, name, jean, paul, habans, 1845, 1908, films, were, designed, café, concert, st. Comedian Paulus Singing French Paulus chantant was a series of five French short silent films made in 1897 by Georges Melies starring the popular cafe concert singer Paulus real name Jean Paul Habans 1845 1908 The films were designed for a cafe concert stunt in which Paulus would sing behind the screen as the films were projected giving the illusion of a sound film 2 All five films are currently presumed lost 3 Paulus chantantDirected byGeorges MeliesStarringPaulusProductioncompanyStar Film CompanyRelease date1897 1897 Running timeFive films of 20 meters 66 feet each 1 CountryFranceLanguageSilent PaulusMelies Contents 1 Summary 2 Production and release 3 References 4 External linksSummary editThe English and French release titles as well as the Star Film Company catalog numbers for the films were as follows 3 Comedian Paulus Singing Derriere l Omnibus Paulus chantant Derriere l Omnibus 88 Comedian Paulus Singing Coquin de Printemps Paulus chantant Coquin de Printemps 89 Comedian Paulus Singing Duelliste Marsellais Paulus chantant Duelliste marseillais 90 Paulus chantant Pere la Victoire no English title or catalogue number Paulus chantant En revenant d la revue no English title or catalogue number Production and release editPaulus then nearing the end of his long and celebrated career as a pro Boulangist entertainer approached Melies with the concept for the stunt 4 The series was filmed at Melies s theater of illusions the Theatre Robert Houdin in Paris 2 In order to provide enough light for his film camera Melies included fifteen arc lamps and fifteen mercury vapor lamps in his setup making the Comedian Paulus Singing series the first known use of artificial light in a motion picture 4 Three of the films Derriere l Omnibus Coquin de Printemps and Duelliste Marsellais were sold through the catalogs of Melies s studio the Star Film Company for both French and American film markets 3 The other two which featured Paulus singing hymns of praise to the controversial political figure Georges Ernest Boulanger were filmed for the cafe concert performance but not included in the Star Film catalogs 2 as Melies himself was a fervent anti Boulangist 5 References edit Hammond Paul 1974 Marvellous Melies London Gordon Fraser p 136 ISBN 0900406380 a b c Sadoul Georges 1970 Georges Melies Paris Editions Seghers p 137 a b c Frazer John 1979 Artificially Arranged Scenes The Films of Georges Melies Boston G K Hall amp Co p 243 ISBN 0816183686 a b Frazer 1979 p 37 Hammond 1974 pp 26 27External links editDerriere l Omnibus at IMDb nbsp Coquin de Printemps at IMDb nbsp Duelliste Marsellais at IMDb nbsp Pere la Victoire at IMDb nbsp En revenant d la revue at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Comedian Paulus Singing amp oldid 1189438457, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
