Guy Oliver has just moved into his new apartment. He decides to check out the state of his piano by playing "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and when he does, everyone in earshot dances until he stops.
Eclair was a successful French studio in the era; they had pioneered in the production of serials and decided to get in on the lively production scene in America. By the time they shut down in 1916, the American branch had produced almost four hundred short subjects.
Because this was their first year, they wanted to hit the ground running and they must have recycled a lot of old movies. This one is pretty much a remake of Louis Feuillade's 1909 short "La Bous-Bous-Mie". It will not strike the modern eye as particularly cinematic, but imagine it playing on the screen with the orchestra playing to beat the band and you'll get an idea of what was going on in cinema -- or had been going on three years earlier; movies were evolving rapidly.
If you wish, you can look at this on the Eye Institute on Youtube. There's no soundtrack, but I'm sure a vintage rag can be found somewhere on the site.
Eclair was a successful French studio in the era; they had pioneered in the production of serials and decided to get in on the lively production scene in America. By the time they shut down in 1916, the American branch had produced almost four hundred short subjects.
Because this was their first year, they wanted to hit the ground running and they must have recycled a lot of old movies. This one is pretty much a remake of Louis Feuillade's 1909 short "La Bous-Bous-Mie". It will not strike the modern eye as particularly cinematic, but imagine it playing on the screen with the orchestra playing to beat the band and you'll get an idea of what was going on in cinema -- or had been going on three years earlier; movies were evolving rapidly.
If you wish, you can look at this on the Eye Institute on Youtube. There's no soundtrack, but I'm sure a vintage rag can be found somewhere on the site.