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From 1907, stage illusionist turned pioneer trick filmmaker W.R. Booth worked for the Charles Urban Trading Company, an arrangement that would see his films become both longer and increasingly elaborate in their fantastical premises. A Diabolo Nightmare was one of the first of these, an allegorical cautionary tale about the ravages of addiction. Though the focus here is on the game of diabolo, the consequences are just as fearsome as they would be with drink and drugs: as a direct result of being distracted by the game, the addict loses his job and takes to housebreaking and stealing from shops to fuel his obsession, which eventually leads to full-blown hallucination as he finds himself teaching the inhabitants of the bottom of a lake how to play. Originally invented in China, the game of diabolo was imported to Europe by explorers. Although popular throughout the 19th century, the game's major commercial breakthrough occurred in 1906, when Frenchman Gustave Philippart invented the modern diabolo, made out of metal and rubber, triggering off a craze for the game in both France and Britain, presumably inspiring Booth's film. Booth may also have been inspired by the game's diabolical-sounding name ('diablo' means 'devil' in Spanish), though its roots are rather more innocent, being derived from the ancient Greek words 'dia' and 'ballo', literally meaning 'through-throw'. Michael Brooke
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Complete film (5:35)
