The Man with the Rubber Head (1901)

The Man with the Rubber Head Review

The Man with the Rubber Head is a 1901 silent short film directed by George Melies. It is one of his most innovative films.

It follows a scientist who places a head on the table and enlarges it by blowing through a tube. Then he brags about it to a colleague who tries it himself and ruins the experiment and gets kicked out of the lab. That is the entire story here and, although definitely slight, it is still fascinating. The ending is also pretty funny.

Once again the director shows his knack for stunning special effects. Here the enlarging of the head looks so real and although it is obvious how he achieved this trick, it is still very impressive for 1901. I also really liked that the head was of George himself and that was funny. The film is too short and again starts abrupt, but it is so incredible visually that it is a marvelous achievement.

The Man with the Rubber Hand is slight and short, but impressive in its special effects and funny in its ending.

My Rating – 4.3