This film is part of Free
The "?" Motorist
The lengths that some people will go to, just to avoid a speeding ticket… in this case to Saturn and back.
Overview
This eccentrically-titled Robert Paul comedy - made by trick specialist WR Booth - is one of the most iconic of early British films. As Cecil Hepworth did in Explosion of a Motor Car (1900), Booth uses a stop-and-substitute gag, using dummy body parts, for the sequence when a car runs over a policeman. Booth, however, takes it further. As the policeman reassembles himself (Terminator-style!) and pursues the car to a dead end, it drives straight up a building and up to the stars, where it drives around a very Georges Melies-style celestial scene before dropping back to earth and the magistrates' court.
Related
Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge
Non-Fiction 1896 1 mins Silent Location: Blackfriars Br
Top-hatted pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic pass over Blackfriars Bridge in London
Aberdeen University Quarter Centenary Celebrations Aberdeen University Quarter Centenary Celebrations
Non-Fiction 1906 32 mins Silent Location: Aberdeen
Edward VII and Queen Alexandra open new buildings at Marischal College, Aberdeen
Drat That Boy! Drat That Boy!
Comedy 1904 2 mins Silent
A boy being supervised by his grandmother sees a chance for mischief
Extraordinary Cab Accident Extraordinary Cab Accident
Trick film 1903 1 mins Silent
A comic traffic incident
Afrika Bambaataa on Afrofuturism (Q&A) Afrika Bambaataa on Afrofuturism (Q&A)
Inside Film 2014 45 mins
Afrika Bambaataa and DJ, musician and filmmaker Don Letts discuss the development of Afrofuturism and its key artists.
Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.
Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.
Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.
Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.
Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.