BFI

This cautionary tale or moral comedy is about a young man who has imbibed too much alcohol and is plagued by phantom bottles and devils. Even as the man attempts to get on with his life, the demons are out to get him. The costumes of the demons and the models of walking liquor bottles are very much in the style of pantomime scenes of the time. Fantastical monsters and actors in 'big heads' were staple fare for these stage spectaculars and the humour is very much the same vein too, with one of the demons having the inscription 'DT' (delirium tremens) written all over him, in case we were in any doubt about what the creature signified. The models are animated to some degree, but mainly they are manipulated much as they would be on stage, with wires. What is most unusual is Fitzhamon's addition, in the street scene, of some ghostly superimpositions of real rats scurrying around to enhance the grisly atmosphere.

Bryony Dixon

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