| The Infernal Cake Walk | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
| Starring | Georges Méliès |
Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | France |
| Language | Silent |
Le Cake-Walk infernal, sold in the United States asThe Cake Walk Infernal and in Britain asThe Infernal Cake Walk, is a 1903 Frenchsilenttrick film byGeorges Méliès. It was sold by Méliès'sStar Film Company and is numbered 453–457 in its catalogues.[1]
The film features thecakewalk, which was booming in popularity in 1903.[2] Méliès appears in the film asPluto/Satan and as the grotesque dancing demon. This rhythm-dependent film was probably filmed to piano accompaniment in the studio.Special effects in the film were worked withtrapdoors,stage machinery,pyrotechnics,substitution splices, andmultiple exposures.[2]
The Infernal Cake Walk features several examples of elements reused from, or later reused in, other films also made by Méliès. The demon masks in the film were originally made for Méliès'sA Trip to the Moon (1902), where they are worn by the Selenites (Moon dwellers); similarly, the effect of dancing limbs had previously been used inDislocation Extraordinary (1901). Conversely, Méliès reusedThe Infernal Cakewalk's grotto set in his later filmThe Damnation of Faust (1903), and recycled thewill-o'-the-wisp effect inThe Infernal Cauldron (1903).[2]
