''Tom Old Boot (a grotesque dwarf)'' (french: Tom Old Boot (nain grotesque)) was an 1896 French

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

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 ...

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use of ...

. It was sold by Méliès's

Star Film Company The Manufacture de films pour cinématographes, often known as Star Film, was a French film production company run by the illusionist and film director Georges Méliès. History On 28 December 1895, Méliès attended the celebrated first publi ...

and is film #75 in its catalogues. Though no synopsis survives, the film appears to have captured a performance by Tom Old Boot, a small-sized entertainer, who played at Méliès's stage venue, the

Théâtre Robert-Houdin The Théâtre Robert-Houdin, initially advertised as the Théâtre des Soirées Fantastiques de Robert-Houdin, was a Paris theatre dedicated primarily to the performance of stage illusions. Founded by the famous magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin ...

, as an "American

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

" ("''nain americain''"). The magazine '' La Vie Parisienne'' reported that Tom Old Boot was playing at the Robert-Houdin Theatre in late December 1895, at Thursday and Sunday matinées. The reports claimed that the performances were a great success, getting many laughs, especially from the children in the audiences. The newspaper '' Le Petit Parisien'' reported on the March 1896 performances at the Robert-Houdin and called Tom Old Boot a "joyful, eccentric, dwarf comedian" ("''joyeux nain comic excentric''"). The film ''Tom Old Boot'' is presumed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

References

External links

* French black-and-white films Films directed by Georges Méliès French silent short films Lost French films 1890s lost films 1896 short films 1890s French films Films about people with dwarfism {{France-silent-film-stub