Polycarpe Wants to Make a Hit

A wannabe film star journeys to Hollywood, but soon finds his dreams do not pan out.

A nice short from the early Karl Valentin.

Dr. Cockroach comes up with a brilliant plan to break themselves out of Area 52 – but to implement the plan, he has to trick B.O.B. into thinking it’s his birthday.

An unnamed man is house-sitting for his friend Imogen. Imogen calls to remind him to take her dog Rothko for a walk, but Rothko takes him for a walk instead.

Lysistrata or The Kissing Strike

A chain-smoking woman has an encounter with a vampire.

Overwhelmed by grief following the death of his wife, Donnelly shares a train carriage home with a troubled young man identified only as the ‘Kid’. As the Kid becomes more agitated and foul-mouthed, the journey takes on a violent and dangerous hue – for the bereaved Donnelly and for other hapless passengers on the train.

A family sends a man out for some bread. Instead, he seems to be trying to find every drink in Paris. Another man goes out after him, but does the same. They both return, utterly drunk.

A couple of kids lay their hands on a pot of very strong glue and proceed to wreak havoc.

A friend of KoKo's animator draws a haunted house, and KoKo and his dog Fitz go inside. There, they encounter frightening hallways where every door leads to a new spook.

Bess is busy reading a book when her folks come in and command her to spend more time at work. They give her a ball of yarn, a crochet needle and set her to work. She is left alone and while moving around in her chair she loses track of the ball of yarn. It happens to have been caught in her belt at her back and out of her own view. Being a girl of quick temper and strong in athletics, the home is in so much of a turmoil when her parents return that Bess has not been subjected to work since. (Moving Picture World)

The photographer sends miss Ophelia a dozen photographs of her in different poses. Selecting the best one, she presents it to her favorite boarder, Billy, who does not think much of it and who gets very indignant when it is compared with the photo of his sweetheart. Miss Ophelia goes up to her room in tears and tells her faithful maid, Belinda, that her heart is broken. Belinda goes down and forcibly tells Billy what she thinks of him. Miss Ophelia resolves on suicide, because no one seems to love her. Belinda gets back in time to prevent this and, to divert her mistress, she suggests that they go together to a beauty specialist. Arriving there, both receive attention. Miss Ophelia gets a new complexion, while Belinda gets new teeth. Both invest in new gowns and dresses and the transformation is complete. At supper time, the boarders are all astounded.

In this sophisticated romantic comedy, healing waters are the cover for an extramarital affair that “cures” the infertility problems of a childless couple.

A couple’s fight over dinner leads to spiralling domestic abuse that spreads all over town. (MoMA)

Hell hath no fury like Léontine with a piece of string! Our favorite mutinous miscreant returns with her weapon of choice, “pulling the strings” as she baits greedy bystanders to snatch at the tempting objects that ever elude their grasps. Léontine is an evil puppet-master who preys on consumer capitalism’s vicious loop between wanting and having. Her angry victims form a vengeful mob and chase after her, but she trips them with string and then rides off into the woods. Real violence is averted by a clever substitution trick and Léontine celebrates with her iconic victory dance.

Fernand Raynaud - En spectacle

Bourreau d'enfant

A tramp tries to earn money by playing the violin, but he’s soon facing off against the jealous competition.

Dennis O'Hara is a poverty-stricken Irishman who believes that if he comes to America he will immediately land a job as a policeman. So he manages to scrape together the funds to get him to Manhattan, and leaves his sweetheart Katie O'Grady behind while he makes his fortune. Naturally he discovers that joining the force isn't as easy as he expected, and when he does finally get in, he winds up in trouble because of the graft collections of his boss.

A husband sneezes inconsiderately all over the place, until his wife has had enough and leaves him.