''Dream of a Rarebit Fiend'' is a 1906

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

directed by

Edwin S. Porter Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 – April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 2 ...

for Edison Manufacturing Company.Niver, Kemp (1967). ''Motion Pictures From The Library of Congress Paper Print Collection 1894-1912.'' University of California Press, It is a seven-minute live-action

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'' is a newspaper comic strip by American cartoonist Winsor McCay, begun September 10, 1904. It was McCay's second successful strip, after ''Little Sammy Sneeze'' secured him a position on the cartoon staff of the '' ...

'' by American cartoonist

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he worke ...

. The film was marketed as using several special effects in which "some of the photographic 'stunts' have never been seen or attempted before."Musser, Charles (1991). ''Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company.'' University of California Press, In 2015, the United States

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

selected the film for preservation in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

The Rarebit Fiend gorges on Welsh rarebit at a restaurant. When he leaves, he begins to get dizzy as he starts to hallucinate. He desperately tries to hang onto a lamppost as the world spins all around him. A man helps him get home. He falls into bed and begins having more hallucinatory dreams. During a dream sequence, the furniture begins moving around the room.

Imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony'' * Imp, a character in the '' Clan ...

s emerge from a floating Welsh rarebit container and begin poking his head as he sleeps. His bed then begins dancing and spinning wildly around the room before flying out the window with the Fiend in it. The bed floats across the city as the Fiend floats up and off the bed. He hangs off the back and eventually gets caught on a

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

atop a steeple. His bedclothes tear and he falls from the sky, crashing through his bedroom ceiling. The Fiend awakens from the dream after falling out of his bed.

Production and release

The Fiend was played by John P. "Jack" Brawn. The Edison Military Band performed a piece called "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" on an Edison cylinder (Edison 9585) in 1907, written by Thomas W. Thurban. The piece was likely inspired by Porter's 1906 film, and may have been intended to accompany it. The piece was written for 18–20-piece band, and has been recorded numerous times.

References

Works cited

* *

External links

*''Dream of a Rarebit Fiend'' essay by Lauren Rabinovitz at

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{{Wallace McCutcheon Sr. American silent short films American black-and-white films 1906 films Films based on comic strips 1906 comedy films Films directed by Edwin S. Porter Articles containing video clips United States National Film Registry films 1906 short films American comedy short films Silent American comedy films Films directed by Wallace McCutcheon Sr. 1900s American films