Sur un air de Charleston (1927)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

André Cerf (idea by)
Pierre Lestringuez (scenario)

Release Date:

19 March 1927 (France)

Genre:

Short | Sci-Fi

Cast

Catherine Hessling	...	Parisian Savage
Johnny Huggins	...	African Explorer
Pierre Braunberger	...	Angel
André Cerf	...	Angel
Pierre Lestringuez	...	Angel
Jean Renoir	...	Angel

Also Known As:

Charleston
Charleston Parade (International: English title)

Runtime:

17 min

Country:

France

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Néo-Film

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II (1993) (TV)

Truly bizarre early Renoir

A man in blackface lands in a spaceship and meets a girl who lives in some sort of shack with a monkey. He hooks her up with a telephone, and she teaches him how to Charleston. Then they fly off in the spaceship, leaving the monkey behind. Cringe-inducing blackface aside, this short film makes no sense. I think that's the plot, but I'm not sure by a long shot. You can't tell that this is Renoir at work, despite his characteristic humanism. Good use of slow-motion, though. Can be found on the NY Film Annex's series of Experimental Film videos, No. 18, I believe.