Gaumont's vision of how the police operate sees aerial surveillance units orchestrating the capture of criminals. Hmmm. That's about where the similarities with reality end as this aerial force use pincers on the end of giant poles to nab their targets. Quite good fun, but feels a bit repetitive even though it's only five minutes long.
2 Reviews
Future cops - silent, simple and silly
jamesrupert20141 May 2024
Police patrol the streets in a propellor-driven dirigible, using long clamps to capture a couple of muggers, a pair of burglars, and a dog spotted stealing sausages from the butcher. Once the on-board jail is full, the aerostat lands on the roof of the police station and the malfeasants are thrown into funnel that deposits them into a room full of other policemen who take them into custody. The short film was made for Gaumont and, even by 1910 standards is primitive. Other than the 'view' the police get through their telescopes (oddly a binocular image), there are no optical special-effects, just props including part of the airship (the whole vehicle is never seen) and the grasping clamps (also never fully seen), the police station set, and hoists for the illusion that the sky-cops are lifting the apprehended criminals up to their lighter-than-air cruiser. The 'action' is quite repetitive, and the comic highlight is the 'arrest' of the dog. Of historical interest only.
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