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The Laboratory of Mephistopheles
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = The Laboratory of Mephistopheles
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| director = Georges Mlis
| based_on = The Faust legend
| editing =
| studio = Star Film Company
| distributor =
| released = 1897
| runtime =
| country = France
| language = Silent
}}
'The Laboratory of Mephistopheles' , initially released in Britain and America as 'Laboratory of Mephistopheles' and also known as 'The Cabinet of Mephistopheles', 'The Devil's Laboratory', 'Faust's Laboratory', and 'The Laboratory of Faust', was an 1897 short silent film directed by Georges Mlis, loosely inspired by the Faust legend.
Plot
Mephistopheles, the demon who appears in the Faust legend, disguises himself as an old man and waits on customers in his laboratory. As the customers prepare to leave, however, Mephistopheles mystifies them with various magical pranks and cavorts under several animal disguises, taunting them with a beautiful vanishing lady and trapping them briefly in a cage. One of the customers, noticing a sword on the wall, manages to cut Mephistopheles's head off, but it remains alive and eventually reattaches itself to its body. Finally, to the great relief of the customers, Mephistopheles himself ends up trapped in his own cage.
Release and reception
'The Laboratory of Mephistopheles' was released by Mlis's Star Film Company and is numbered 118120 in its catalogues. It was shown at Mlis's own Paris theatre of illusions, the Thtre Robert-Houdin, in early October 1897, along with four other new Mlis films: 'The Barber and the Farmer', 'The Charcoal Man's Reception', 'The Bewitched Inn', and 'A Hypnotist at Work'. The newspaper 'Le Journal' reported that the films were novel and received with much success. In February 1898, the magician David Devant toured British towns with the film as part of his act, advertising it under the titles 'The Laboratory of Faust' and 'Faust's Laboratory'.
The film has been cited both as the first Faustian film and as Mlis's first literary adaptation, and is believed to be the first film in which Mlis experimented with the special effect of multiple exposure. It is currently presumed lost.
References
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