The library is a wonderful thing. I was looking to see if they had a couple of the shorts on the Oscar list, and lo and behold, I found a VHS tape waiting for me on the hold shelf. It had a few unmemorable shorts, a couple Oscar winners, and two non-winners that I really enjoyed.
Papageno, 1935
Papageno is a character from Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and in this animated short, her is trying to find a mate. It wasn't the story that interested me so much as the animation technique, which was the use of cut-outs/silhouettes, but in a very sophisticated and beautiful manner.
Ersatz, Best Short Subject, Cartoon, 1961
This ten minute short was about five minutes too long for me. A man goes to the beach and starts to inflate all of the objects he brings, whether it's a bed, a surfboard, or a woman. Perhaps this was amusing in 1961, but I was bored.
The Bespoke Overcoat, Best Short Subject, Two-Reel, 1956
Conversely, The Bespoke Overcoat tells a heartbreaking, but captivating, story in only seven minutes. The film opens with the funeral of an unknown person, whom we find out is Fender, a clerk at a clothing manufacturer, and all he wants is a nice coat to keep him warm. His miserly and unsympathetic boss refuses to give him one or even sell one at a cheaper price. Fender asks his friend, Morry, a tailor, to make one for less than cost. Morry tries, but he is unable to finish it in time, and Fender dies from the cold. In fact, we meet Fender as a Ghost or in flashbacks. The film was based on a short story by the Russian writer, Gogol, who I have not read, but I'm now curious to learn more about his stories. It was directed by Jack Clayton, who later directed The Great Gatsby and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.
The Stranger Left No Card, 1952
The Stranger Left No Card is the longest of the shorts on the tape at 23 minutes, and struck me as a story worthy of Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Serling. A strange character comes to town, he's very flamboyant and colorful, a little odd, but very noticeable. He goes by the name 'Napoleon', and soon becomes a fixture, entertaining the kids and being humored by the adults. This is all an act of misdirection as he has a vendetta to resolve as he commits the perfect crime. I'm hoping that you will try to find this in your library online somewhere, because it is a wonderful suspense story, and I may have told you too much. It was directed by Wendy Toye, who was a director, actress and dancer; I don't know how many women were directing in 1952, but I don't think there were that many, so to me, this is an important film for that reason as well as being a very good film.
