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Cabby's Dream, The (1906)
 

BFI

Main image of Cabby's Dream, The (1906)
 
35mm, black and white, silent, 320 feet
 
Production CompanyWarwick Trading Company

A cabby dreams that he takes a magician for a ride, and when they reach their destination his passenger conjures up an assortment of fantastic people from the cab.

Show full synopsis

A trick film from the Warwick Trading Company in which a cab driver dreams that he picks up a magician. On arrival outside a grand house the magician alights - his case is inscribed A. Presto - and he argues with the cabby about the fare. He produces a coin, which he tosses in the air and turn into a series of strange creatures. He proceeds to conjure more fantastical creatures from out of the cab. The creatures dance around the cab driver, who puts his head in his hands. The creatures are played by children's pantomime 'big heads'. These were the costumes commonly used for the unearthly, fantasy creatures of the pantomime and were very likely borrowed from a theatrical production at the time.

Bryony Dixon

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Video Clips
Complete film (2:01)
GALLERY / SCRIPTS / AUDIO
SEE ALSO
A Year in Film: 1906