On the Roof

On the Roof
Screenshot from the film
Directed by	Georges Méliès
Release date(s)	1897 (1897)
Running time	1min 11secs
Country	France
Language	Silent

On the Roof (French: Sur les Toits; Star Film Catalogue no. 100) is a 1897 French short black-and-white silent comedy film, directed by Georges Méliès, featuring the director as a bumbling policeman attempting to apprehend two criminals on the roof of an apartment building. "Every second of this," "highly successfully staged" "minute of film," according to Europa Film Treasues, "is used to construct the character's action and movements" and "made use of the theatre's three-dimensional decor," which "the competition quickly copied." The film was included in the Will Day collection bought by French Minister of Cultural Affairs André Malraux from collector Wilfrid Day in 1959 and preserved in the French Film Archives.^[1]

Synopsis

A woman calls for help from her window as two burglars climb over the rooves into her house, tie her up and throw her out of the window. A policeman hears her cries and climbs onto the roof only to be trapped by the burglars before they make their escape.

Current status

Given its age, this short film is available to freely download from the Internet.

References

1. ^ "A brief History: Sur les toits". Europa Film Treasues. http://www.europafilmtreasures.eu/PL/393/a-brief-history-on_the_roof. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 

External links

• On the Roof at the Internet Movie Database