Bataille de femmes (1896)
TV-PG 25 Apr 1896 • Short, Action, Comedy • 0h 1m
The first brunette is outdoors, sweeping the street or a patio in front of a white wall, well lighted by the sunshine coming from the top left of the fixed camera; we may assume she is the Servant. A second brunette enters from the right, crosses to the left looking sideways at the Servant, and retraces her steps back - stepping over the dust and dead leaves collected by the work of the Servant; by the hat with a floral arrangement that tops her elaborate hairdo, the second woman is possibly the Lady. Both women are tall and well bodied, and are wearing white embroidered shirts and long dark round skirts that come to their ankles covered in black socks and dark leather shoes. The first Brunette menaces the second with the sweeping end of her broom but the second woman waves it aside with a large gesture of her left arm. The Servant throws away her tool, and they come to blows, slapping arms and forcing against each other by grabbing each other's shoulders and arms. Immediately, the fancy hat flies to the left of the camera, where it will remain for the rest of the action. The women quickly attempt to grab and pull hair. The Servant succeeds, and surprisingly wrenches off the wig the Lady was wearing, leaving her head partially bald. They keep churning against each other, until a Man enters from the right; he has a mustache and is wearing a gray round hat, black shoes, gray trousers and dark coat, approaches them, and forces the women apart with his arms. His clothes seem of bourgeois quality, so he may be the Lady's husband. His success in separating the battling women is at the cost of losing his own hat. The Servant goes after the Man, as the other brunette seems to understand her humiliating situation - and covers the top of her bald head with both hands clasped above. However, seeing how the Servant and the Man are now fighting, she seems amused, and laughs. The Lady comes forward and helps the Servant to shove the Man away. Without respite, the two women re-start battling again, and one grasps the sharp contrast between the «bald» Lady and the Servant's waved, waist long, massive mane of disheveled hair. The battle goes on, with the women waving their arms at each other (and laughing out of character). The Man gives up his good scout action, bends to pick up his hat, dusts it off, and replaces it on his head. As the Man leaves through the right, the two women let their arms fall by their sides, and stop the battle.
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France
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