Overblown acting and a ridiculous plot make this pretty hard to swallow. it does have conventional plot and was easier to follow than some of the films, but, overall, it just was ten minutes wasted. Four ruffians go into a house where, I guess, valuables from hard work (maybe gold?) are kept. They are confronted and stab a man and a woman. The blame is put on the son, who has a Prince Valiant haircut and emotes like he has fire ants in his pants. The young woman heroine knew this robbery was going to occur but no one would listen to her. Also, she is blinded during the robbery. They end up in the high court of kangaroo where things get solved.
4 Reviews
Méliès's Worst Film
Cineanalyst17 August 2013
Having now seen all of the 199 films from Georges Méliès available on 6 DVDs from Flicker Alley, which is albeit fewer than half of the more than 500 films he made overall, but of which most are now lost, I consider this one, "Not Guilty", to be the worst that I've seen. His mostly single-scene trick films are repetitive, but they have a goofy joyfulness that earns them a pass, and his other forays around this time of increased production into the comedic and melodramatic genres made popular by other studios could also be weak imitations, but they also often displayed adoption of some new cinematic techniques. On other IMDb pages, I've praised the pioneer cinema magician's best work, including "The Dreyfuss Affair" (1899), "Bluebeard" (1901), "A Trip to the Moon" (1902), "The Kingdom of the Fairies" (1903), "Long Distance Wireless Photography" (1908) and "Baron Munchausen's Dream" (1911), as well as remarking on the appreciable aspects of others from good to not so good. But, I don't really have anything nice to say about "Not Guilty".
The four-scene scenario is a labored melodrama where three outlaws try to steal, murder and get their victims' son to be falsely tried for the crimes. An eavesdropping neighbor girl is temporarily blinded by the men during the home robbery, but all is abruptly made well in time for a courtroom revelation where the true criminals (who are stupid enough to attend the trial instead of skipping town) are pointed out by the neighbor girl. If that weren't enough, apparently, the neighbor girl and the homeowners' son display their love at the end.
Despite being only 10 minutes long, the picture has a slow pacing with only four scenes and three different sets. These sets are poor by Méliès standards, too, including one that's mostly a backdrop. The biggest problem with the production, however, is the acting, which is some of the worst I've ever seen. The actors wander all over the stage waving their arms and making huge theatrical gestures. That Méliès's films are already typically very theatrical--being bound to a stage and recorded by a stationary camera from a consistent long-shot framing--does the performances no favors. That's too bad, because Méliès was usually good at restraining the enthusiasm and theatricality of the performances better than this.
The four-scene scenario is a labored melodrama where three outlaws try to steal, murder and get their victims' son to be falsely tried for the crimes. An eavesdropping neighbor girl is temporarily blinded by the men during the home robbery, but all is abruptly made well in time for a courtroom revelation where the true criminals (who are stupid enough to attend the trial instead of skipping town) are pointed out by the neighbor girl. If that weren't enough, apparently, the neighbor girl and the homeowners' son display their love at the end.
Despite being only 10 minutes long, the picture has a slow pacing with only four scenes and three different sets. These sets are poor by Méliès standards, too, including one that's mostly a backdrop. The biggest problem with the production, however, is the acting, which is some of the worst I've ever seen. The actors wander all over the stage waving their arms and making huge theatrical gestures. That Méliès's films are already typically very theatrical--being bound to a stage and recorded by a stationary camera from a consistent long-shot framing--does the performances no favors. That's too bad, because Méliès was usually good at restraining the enthusiasm and theatricality of the performances better than this.
Melodramatic Melies
Tornado_Sam28 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
By the time Georges Melies made this film, his trick movies were extremely outdated and audiences were no longer impressed by this sort of filmmaking. So, he had to catch up with the times by making comedies and melodramas. This is one of those, and despite the other reviewer's commentary it is actually not bad. The story is basic but works pretty well enough. I suppose it could have been told much, much better by D. W. Griffith in his years at Biograph, but because Melies's films are always very stagy, you can't blame him for not taking a better approach.
A couple is murdered and the son is accused of being the murderer. His girlfriend, however, manages to accuse the actual murderers and save the her love. The film is longer than many of his movies, at 10 minutes but is actually not considered as one of his epics, which shows how, as time progressed, films were expected to be much longer. I wouldn't say it's something to check out if you're new to Melies because it doesn't display any of his marvelous special effects, but it's well worth seeing if you've already seen a fair amount of his earlier output already.
A couple is murdered and the son is accused of being the murderer. His girlfriend, however, manages to accuse the actual murderers and save the her love. The film is longer than many of his movies, at 10 minutes but is actually not considered as one of his epics, which shows how, as time progressed, films were expected to be much longer. I wouldn't say it's something to check out if you're new to Melies because it doesn't display any of his marvelous special effects, but it's well worth seeing if you've already seen a fair amount of his earlier output already.
Decent Melies Film
Michael_Elliott20 August 2012
Not Guilty (1908)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
aka Anaïc ou le balafré
This Georges Melies melodrama is certainly a major step up from many of the films that he was making during this period of his career. Three masked men break into a home a kill a couple people. A man who lives at the house finds the bodies but when his neighbors break in they think he's the man who has committed the crimes. NOT GUILTY is not a good film by any stretch of the imagination but I thought it at least showed the director could tell a story and make it somewhat entertaining. Clocking in at ten-minutes, the film actually never feels long as Melies appears to be handling the actors quite well and the performances are better than I expected. I will also add that the director seems to have had a little more energy with this film compared to some others that he did in 1908. I think the film could have started off better because the first few scenes really don't make much sense and looking back on them I'm really not sure they added anything to the story. Still, Melies fans should enjoy this one but if you're new to the director then it might be best to check out some of his earlier work.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
aka Anaïc ou le balafré
This Georges Melies melodrama is certainly a major step up from many of the films that he was making during this period of his career. Three masked men break into a home a kill a couple people. A man who lives at the house finds the bodies but when his neighbors break in they think he's the man who has committed the crimes. NOT GUILTY is not a good film by any stretch of the imagination but I thought it at least showed the director could tell a story and make it somewhat entertaining. Clocking in at ten-minutes, the film actually never feels long as Melies appears to be handling the actors quite well and the performances are better than I expected. I will also add that the director seems to have had a little more energy with this film compared to some others that he did in 1908. I think the film could have started off better because the first few scenes really don't make much sense and looking back on them I'm really not sure they added anything to the story. Still, Melies fans should enjoy this one but if you're new to the director then it might be best to check out some of his earlier work.
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