This film is part of Free
Oh'phelia A Cartoon Burlesque
To bob, or not to bob? That is the question for Ophelia in this early animated Hamlet, starring a far from gloomy Dane
Overview
Part Shakespeare, part panto, this animated comedy seeks to put a smile on the gloomy Dane's face. One of a series of Shakespeare parodies, Anson Dyer's cartoon burlesques got rave reviews in the trade press of the time, with the Pall Mall Gazette proclaiming that the films offered "Fifteen minutes of unalloyed joy" and were "the caviar of the film trade".
Anson Dyer worked as a stained glass window artist until 1915, when at the age of 40 he began producing lightning sketch propaganda films. By the end of WWI, Dyer was one of a very small handful of key figures in the fledgling British animation industry. His reputation earned him the backing of Cecil Hepworth, pioneer director and producer and one of the biggest figures in British cinema of the time. Sadly, competition from American cartoons (along with Hepworth's bankruptcy) made British animation an unprofitable business, and by the late 1920s Dyer had moved away from filmmaking. He returned with a new cel animation studio in 1935, though, and managed to continue in the business into the 1950s.
Related
John Bull's Animated Sketchbook No. 4 John Bull's Animated Sketchbook No. 4
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1915 5 mins Silent
An animated recreation of the sinking of the Lusitania is the centrepiece of this pioneering mix of comedy, satire and outrage in cartoon propaganda.
The Right Spirit The Right Spirit
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1931 9 mins
Donβt judge a book by its cover but do judge a political party by its garage in this Conservative cartoon from the height of the depression.
Giro the Germ Episode 1 Giro the Germ Episode 1
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1927 8 mins Silent
The germs in this silent 1920s cartoon seem to have caught the Flapper bug
The Latest News The Latest News
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1904 1 mins Silent
The βBill Baileyβ punchline might have lost its meaning over the years, but this comic gag short features some of Britainβs earliest animation
Animated Putty Animated Putty
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1911 4 mins Silent
Long, long before Wallace met Gromit filmmakers performed malleable magic to bring clay to life
Animated Cotton Animated Cotton
Trick film 1909 5 mins Silent
Relax and unwind in rewind with this trick film β if you havenβt cottoned on yet all is not as it seemsβ¦
Joanna Scanlan - Exclusive Q&A Joanna Scanlan - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 51 mins
Actor and writer Joanna Scanlan talks to Mia Bays, director of the BFI's Filmmaking Fund, about her career in film and television.
Baldwin's N***** Baldwin's N*****
Documentary 1969 44 mins
Horace OvΓ©'s striking portrait of the American writer James Baldwin at his sharp-witted best addressing a group of radical West Indian students in 1960s London.
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.