That Fatal Sneeze
Live action, UK, 1907
Director: Lewin Fitzhamon
Language: Silent
Colour: Black and white
Running Time: 5 minutes
Short synopsis
A man plays a practical joke on his nephew, who takes revenge in a similar, but far more explosive, fashion.
Long synopsis
An old uncle plays a trick upon his nephew by pouring pepper on the boy's dinner, causing him to sneeze uncontrollably. That night, the nephew takes revenge by sneaking into his uncle's room and sprinkling pepper on various personal items, including his handkerchief. When the uncle wakes and gets dressed, the pepper takes effect and causes him to sneeze so violently his room shakes and the bed tips over.
Heading out for the day, followed by his nephew, the sneezing continues and the uncle
knocks down a vegetable stall outside one shop and boxes outside another. The owners and some passers by give chase.
Rushing up to a policeman to ask for help, he sneezes again, causing the policeman to fall and knocking over a lamppost, after which he destroys a house, and causes an elderly woman's wig to fly into the air. He evades his pursuers by climbing a ladder and then sneezing, breaking the ladder and the sneezes are getting worse. Alone on a street, he sneezes so strongly the world starts shaking around him, until finally, with one final gigantic sneeze, the uncle explodes and disappears in a puff of smoke.
Background information
That Fatal Sneeze was extremely popular at its time. The film combines three popular early film forms: the first is the comic staple in which a mischievous child plays a trick upon an old man, the second is a long chase. The third element is the trick film, in which the capacity of the camera to show the seemingly impossible is exploited for comic or dramatic effect. Several different tricks appear in the film. Firstly there are the various 'sneeze' effects. As the old man sneezes in each location, various items are rigged with wires to fall over or jump up. The two most spectacular tricks are left for the end, after the chase is over. In one, the sneeze is so great is causes the world to sway back and forth, an effect achieved by placing the camera on a rocking board. The final effect has the old man explode with the force of his sneeze, enacted by stopping the camera, moving the actor and placing at the same spot a small device that gave off a puff of smoke.
Lewin Fitzhamon worked with the production company Hepworth for eight years, during which time he wrote, directed and frequently acted in two films per week. He showed himself to be accomplished in a wide range of narrative forms to suit the emerging cinema business, directing over 400 films in his career. One of the being the famous Rescued by Rover, included in our Story Shorts 2 resource.
- For more information about Fitzhamon see Screenonline.
- For more early films like that see also the BFI DVD or VHS compilation Early Cinema: Primitives and Pioneers.
Teaching materials and additional materials
The teaching materials have been developed by practising teachers to provide a springboard for your own work with your pupils. Feel free to use and adapt them appropriate to your pupils' needs.
There are also some stills and additional materials, provided by the film-makers, that can be used to develop your work with the film and deepen pupils' understanding of the process of film-making.
