A Florida Enchantment

A pioneering work on gay cinema, "A Florida Enchantment" is a delightful and entertaining glimpse at WW1-era America and its social and cultural mores. Based on a book and play of the same name this vintage charmer tells the tale of a woman who ingests strange "ingredients" that transform her into something not particularly favorable in 1914 America. Coming from a 1 % family and with an aging doctor for a suitor madcap hilarity ensues as the young lady indulges in her newfound freedom to everyone's horror and bemusement.

In humorous and still quite scandalous tones the film takes on the then novel topics of bisexuality, cross dressing and transgenderism. Although it has its slow parts and the minimal intertitles make the story a bit hard to follow at little over an hour long the acting and pacing are well done for a film well over a century old. To see the elegant suits of the men, the elaborate gowns of the women, the hats, the antiquated gestures and mannerisms, the amusing blackface, and overall vintage look, feel and vibe hearken one back to a bygone age. What I'll always remember and associate the film with is the sunny, windy, leafy and lush scenery of the Florida background which gives this B & W relic a tropical freshness distinct in movies of the time.

One of the silents that will always remain viewable and relevant because of its quality and subject matter, "A Florida Enchantment" is a must see for historians and silent film fans.

The plot alone is enough to ensure a place for this early Vitagraph feature on a list of true motion picture curiosities. At a Florida seaside resort a young bride-to-be swallows a magic African seed which allows her to change gender in every way except outward appearance, much to the dismay of her fiancé (played by comedian/director Sidney Drew), who soon finds both himself and his future wife flirting with the same women! The sexual role reversal device (Drew is later 'transformed' into a woman) wears thin after all the expected gestures are exhausted, but the pantomime skill of Edith Storey as the bride-turned-bachelor is right on target and still funny after more than 95 years, exhibiting just the right attitude of male arrogance and confidence. Drew showed remarkable judgment for an actor/director by allowing her most of the limelight, and the sunny location photography along the Atlantic seaside was fairly advanced for its day.

This early feature-length film, "A Florida Enchantment", has a novel and goofy story of a woman discovering old seeds that reverse one's gender. She and her servant take one each and, supposedly, become men (although they're still played by the same actresses and, often, appear to the other characters to be female when they're wearing dresses). She also gives one to her fiancé, and he is thus feminized. The narrative, however, is lacking beyond the comedy of genders exaggerating the characteristics of the opposite sex. There are party and travel scenes that don't progress the plot. This gender-bending comedy probably would've fit the one or two-reel format better than it does the hour-plus length. In fact, an early short film, Alice Guy's "The Consequences of Feminism" (Les Résultats du féminism)(1906) was a similar gender-role-reversal farce. Additionally, this narrative suggests some homosexuality and, especially, cross-dressing, but not in any daring way, but rather as an extension of the gender-reversal amusement.

The gender transformations are less than convincing, but I suppose that doesn't matter. More bothersome is the servant characters in blackface and the otherwise rather racist characterizations of blacks in this film. The goggled eyes and jokes based on the servant's stupidity or the lead character striking her maid made valet are insulting rather than funny. Otherwise, the film is of little cinematic interest. It's rather prosaically filmed. There are a few abrupt cuts, which don't distinguish the passing of time (i.e. direct cuts instead of fades or something similar). Overall, "A Florida Enchantment" is, at best, mildly amusing in parts.

Remember when Florida was an LGBTQ-friendly vacation spot? Seems so long ago.

This early comedy took on gender roles in a fun and daring way over a century ago. This early feature comedy pokes fun at gender roles in what must have been a daring film for its day. The use of white actors and actresses in blackface is challenging now, but the views of early 20th-Century Florida help make up for it. Filmed on location in Florida from Fort St. Augustine to Silver Springs when the Florida tourism industry was in its infancy, it is easy to see how much the state has changed in the intervening 110 years.

But, perhaps the most fun, is the juxtaposition of current politics in the state with this early satire of gender more than a century be before.

The first gay film ever made? Possibly. A woman pops a few exotic pills that enhances her with sexual male behaviour . She takes a fancy to women, creating a slight stir. But to get into their pants she has to dress as a male. Maybe the first ever cross dressing film? Light screwball farce with the usual over-the-top acting from silent flics. By the way. Director Sidney Drew happens to be Drew Barrymore's great Grandfather or Uncle or something like that!