Delirium In A Studio (1907)
aka Ali Barbouyou et Ali Bouf à l'huile
We're extremely lucky that any of Georges Melies work survived and if you look through his filmmography you'll notice that the majority of it is gone. This film from 1907 is sadly incomplete as it's only available in a two-minute fragment. The opening title card explains that a painter has just finished his work when his assistant comes in an accidentally drinks varnish. The film then picks up as the painter goes haywire and sends the assistant into the painting. It's really too bad that this film is incomplete because what's available is actually pretty good. The special effects we get to see are impressive for their time and I also thought there were some nice laughs to be had from the painter simply going nuts. The headless body joke was also a winner and I really would have liked to have seen where this joke would have gone.