Why That Actor Was Late (1908)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
I love the work of Georges Melies but to date this here is the worst film I've seen from him. The title pretty much tells you everything you need to know. This comedy starts off in a bar where several people are getting drunk and having a good time. The actor of our title leaves so that he can get to the stage on time but all sorts of things happen to keep him from his goal. As you work your way through the filmmography of Melies you'll see that he did a lot more than just trick movies. There were quite a few comedies made by the master but this here is without question the worst I've seen. The entire film seems like it runs on for hours even though the thing only clocks in at five-minutes. The biggest problem is that nothing is funny. All of the traps that the actor gets into never work in terms of laughs so you're pretty much just sitting there with a blank on your face. It seems Melies was wanting to do something different, something other guys were making but in this case the other guys were doing it much better.