''It's a Gift'' (1923) is a short

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

featuring

Snub Pollard Harold Fraser (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962), known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s. Career Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 No ...

and directed by

Hugh Fay Hugh Fay (June 9, 1882 – December 4, 1925) was an American comedic actor and director. He appeared in vaudeville and silent films. He was the son of Irish vaudevillian Henry "Hugh" Fay and comedic actress Elfie Fay was his sister. Filmograph ...

Plot

A group of oil magnates are trying to think of new ways to attract business. One of them suggests that they contact an eccentric inventor (Pollard), who has devised a new gasoline substitute. The inventor himself lives in a home filled with his strange inventions. When he gets the message from the oil company, he is excited about the opportunity to demonstrate his innovation, and jumps into his "magnet car".

In popular culture

The most famous sequence in the film shows Pollard using a large

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

to put his car into motion. The sequence in which Pollard appears from around the corner and observes the multi-car collision was used on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' in an educational film about traffic lights, which premiered in the first episode of the show's second season in the fall of 1970. Sesame Street - Traffic Lights (1970), YouTube
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Cast

... Inventor Pollard *

Marie Mosquini Marie Mosquini (born Marie de Esy; December 3, 1899 – February 21, 1983) was an American film actress. Biography Born in 1899, Mosquini appeared in more than 200 silent films between 1917 and 1929. After leaving high school she became the res ...

... The Girl * William Gillespie ... Weller Pump, oil executive *

Wallace Howe Wallace Howe (March 4, 1878, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts – November 23, 1957, in Los Angeles, California), born Orlando Wallace Howe, was an American film actor. He appeared in 104 films between 1918 and 1936, including many films with Harold L ...

... Customer * Mark Jones ... Swindler * Eddie Dunn ... Postman (uncredited)

References

External links

*
''It's a Gift'' at SilentEra
1923 films 1923 comedy films 1923 short films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Articles containing video clips Films about scientists Silent American comedy short films Surviving American silent films English-language comedy short films {{short-silent-comedy-film-stub