Dream of a Rarebit Fiend

What an amazing cinematic experience! Just as Porter's influence was starting to wane, he makes what is arguably his most visually stunning film. Though not as famous as "Life of an American Fireman", Rarebit Fiend is a clever, captivating piece of film history.

The 'plot' as such is irrelevant - what the film does is take opportunities to showcase as many new special effects as it possibly can. Tricks of space, dimension, time, both in-camera and on set, create one of cinema's first convincing nightmare perspectives. Predating the surrealist era by decades, Porter's film is a must see for all fans of non-linear and non-traditional film-making.

To fully appreciate an old film and its contribution to cinema, one has to be fully educated in the technology of the times it was made. Hence, the appreciation of Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, created in 1906, is a leap in special effects that even the wizard of film effects, George Melies, must have enjoyed seeing at the time of its release.

Others on the board have given a concise history of the brains behinds this project--Edwin Porter, the Edison Manufacturing Company premier director, teamed up with cartoonist Winsor McCay, he of Little Nemo comic strip and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, to produce this 7-minute gem.

Comedian John "Jack" Brawn provides the pratfalls as he succumbs to an evenings' worth of nightmares after gorging on Welsh Rabit, a combination of melted cheese over toast. Porter's in-camera special effects forged new ground in trick photography that became imitated by others afterwards. His revolving film of backgrounds matted his foregrounds of Brawn and objects (like a light post and his bed) which served to mesmerize audiences when Rarebit first was released,

The movie was the most successful of Edisons' releases in 1906, where he sold almost 200 copies of Rabebit to nickelodeons and film exchanges that year, an almost unheard of number prints purchased in a single year up to that time.

Let me start off by saying that I haven't seen the Melies movies from this period to compare it to. Given that caveat I must say I found this piece of film-making to be incredibly entertaining. On Image Entertainment's box-set of Unseen Cinema this short is included with its original soundtrack played by the Edison Military Band. This music must be the most crackpot, shamelessly joyful and subversive piece ever composed. I do not think the film would be the same without it.

I must say I found it very exhilarating to watch a man in a white suit and top hat spooning rarebit into his maw and down his face, slurping his porter or ale in the same mouthful. It's a glorious act of hedonism and reminds me of similar outrageous acts when I was a child (far too sensible now, sigh). For other commenters to think that this would not make him paralytic and hallucinatory is astonishing naivety. The way that he tries to hold onto a lamppost after leaving the restaurant whilst the whole world gyrates about him is an excellent portrayal of drunkenness unmatched in the judgmental and sober modern era.

Just when he thinks he's made it home safe and sound to bed (ah the respite of the divan!) the whole room starts dancing, poor chap, all of us drunks have fallen for this mirage of comfort. The voyage over the city in his bed is a bit odd for me, but doesn't dampen this excellent entertainment.

With a slight but bizarre story, and all kinds of special visual effects, this is one of the weirder but more interesting features of its era. It's not really a great film, since some parts of it don't quite work as well, but it's very interesting, and it would still be interesting even if it had been made some years later.

The story comes from some of Winsor McCay's comic strips about the "Rarebit Fiend", and the offbeat material indeed seems ready-made for cinema. There is just enough to the scenario to allow for a wide range of camera effects. Several sequences effectively and creatively combine panning shots and stationary views superimposed on each other to create an effect. The "whirling" effect, towards the beginning of the movie, might be the best one.

There are a number of other features from the first decade of the 1900s that might be even better in terms of the visuals, and/or that are more enjoyable as narratives, but this is still one of the movies that those who enjoy watching these very old films should make a point of seeing. It's unusual, experimental, and interesting.

After sloppily overindulging in 'Welsh rarebit' and wine, the titular 'fiend' (Jack Brawn) staggers home only to experience devilish headaches and horrifying dreams. This ancient silent comedy, directed and filmed by Edison men Wallace McCutcheon and Edwin S. Porter, was inspired by one of a series of eponymous 1904 comic strips drawn by Winsor McCay that featured the dire consequences of overconsumption of the 'beer, bread and cheese' concoction. The short is full of imaginative special effects that, although primitive by modern standards, were quite sophisticated at the time, including miniatures, stop-motion, double-exposures, mattes, and other assorted camera tricks. The overall effect is quite well-done and humorous, especially when the fiend experiences the dreaded 'bed-spins'.