User Reviews

I knew Tony Sarg as the director and producer of a few stop-motion animation shorts in the early 1920s. I didn't realize he came into the field through puppetry..... or perhaps he left to do marionettes. In any case, this short featuring some elaborately designed and facilely handled marionettes with an Arabian Nights theme seems to be very well done.

Of course, it all depends on whether you enjoy marionettes. For the ten minutes this short takes, I enjoyed it.

This was another rarity that I watched on the "Saved from the Flames" DVD collection. It's basically a series of skits, songs, and dances performed by marionettes representing the orient or maybe the middle east. I was fascinated when some smoke actually came out of one man's-well, let's just say that thing that smokes-and how that woman danced with those strings attached. Then the puppets' creator, Tony Sarg, appears at the end to take a bow. Sarg was responsible for the giant balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade as well as the moving character window displays during the holidays. He also had a puppet show seen by about three million people during the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. He also was an illustrator of magazine covers. With all that said, I recommend Tony Sarg's Marionettes in the Orient for anyone curious about this now-forgotten person.

This film was included in the three DVD set "Saved From the Flames"--a collection of mostly ephemeral movies that have managed to avoid turning to powder, catching fire or melting--something that usually happened with the nitrate film stock used up through the 1950s. According to the notes, this is a production by Tony Sarg--the father of modern puppetry. And, it's also his last film and only one with sound.

As far as the film goes, it just looks like the filming of a marionette show--with lots of strings, a puppet theater and simple puppets and sets. I don't get the 'father of modern puppetry' based on what it looks like. Maybe if you are really, really into marionettes you'll find this brilliant.

The story is set in what might be India--or at least a 1920s American idea of what the area is like. Black people, white people, elephants, deserts, circus tents and the like all create a somewhat confusing tableau. There's lots of singing and a sort of variety show atmosphere and not a lot of dialog or plot. You could do worse...but this isn't a glowing endorsement. Instead, I suppose the film is interesting for its historical significance...and for a chance to see puppet belly dancing.