The Man With The Rubber Head

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L'homme à la tête de caoutchouc

Directed by	Georges Méliès
Written by	Georges Méliès
Release date(s)	1902
Running time	3 minutes
Country	France
Language	Silent film
IMDb profile

L'homme à la tête de caoutchouc (The Man With The Rubber Head) is a 1902 silent French fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès. It was filmed in 1901 and released in 1902.

[edit] Synopsis

A chemist in his laboratory places upon a table his own head, alive; then fixing upon his head a rubber tube with a pair of bellows, he begins to blow with all his might. Immediately the head increases in size and continues to enlarge until it becomes truly colossal while making faces. The chemist, fearing to burst it, opens a cock in the tube. The head immediately contracts and resumes its original size. He then calls his assistant and informs him of his discovery. The assistant, wishing to experiment for himself, seizes the bellows and blows into the head with all his might. The head swells until it bursts with a crash, knocking over the two experimenters.

[edit] Overview

The film was made after A Trip to the Moon. To create the illusion of an expanding head, Melies "zoomed" in on his own head with a camera and superimposed this onto the film (again with "Black Magic"). He received the idea from Albert A. Hopkins Magic - Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions.