Laughing Gas

This early short, "Laughing Gas," is noteworthy for featuring an African-American woman in the lead role in a picture that is a generally stereotype-free representation of race. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many early films that I can say that about ("Something Good - Negro Kiss" (1898) would be another, though). The gag here involves her continuous fit of laughter after receiving nitrous oxide at a dentist's office, and her spreading that laughter to others through a series of slapstick skits, on what looks to be a bus or subway car, a few sidewalks, a courtroom, the home of the family where she seems to work as a servant, and in church. This was a common trick back in the early days of screen slapstick where the logic seemed to be that if the characters were laughing that audiences might, too. It seems stale today, if ever it did work.

The problem with the representation here, however, isn't racial, but rather the tendency towards long-shot framing, which strains the spectator's affections from identifying with the characters. Only two bookend medium close-ups, which comes from the tradition of facial comedies in early cinema stretching back to the 19th Century, of Bertha Regustus come as a relief in this regard. The other eight shots in this 10-shot short are scenes in themselves in front of a distanced, stationary camera. The continuity across scenes is decent if standard for the era. The only thing missing to make it like any other comedy from this stage in film history is a chase at the end. In a sense, though, that's an endorsement of "Laughing Gas;" it represents people of different races in the same way.

"Laughing Gas" is a ridiculous story for a movie...but, for 1907, it does have a lot to offer.

When the film began, I was surprised. The star of the story is a black woman...which was very unusual for 1907. She is having a toothache and goes to the dentist. He gives her laughing gas and all day long she laughs and laughs and laughs....on the subway, walking down the street, on her job as a maid, when she meets two men about to fight and at church. And, in each case, her laughing is infectuous and all those around her break into laughter.

So why do I give this ridiculous story a 7? Because for 1907, it's awfully good...a nice comedy that made me smile.

This short comedy about the humorous effects of "Laughing Gas" is pleasantly silly and enjoyable, getting the most out of a simple story idea. It is also by no means without interest purely in cinematic terms, as it has at least a couple of aspects that make it worth remembering.

The story follows a woman who is given "laughing gas" by a dentist, and who continues to feel the effects of it long afterward. It is mostly a series of comic vignettes that place her in a variety of situations. The comedienne who plays the lead role is lively and engaging, and she makes it easy to believe the effect that her sudden good humor has on others.

One notable feature is the 'before' and 'after' close-ups of the main character. At the time, close-ups were still an uncommon innovation, and for a film to include them meant that someone did a little creative thinking, instead of relying solely on commonplace methods.

It is also interesting that the actress who plays Mandy, the main character, is African-American. It is of course purely a comic role, and it was by no means the norm in 1907 for minorities to be featured in starring roles. But it does seem to have been more common at the time than it would become in later decades.

With a funny, good-natured story plus some other points of interest, "Laughing Gas" is certainly worth seeing and remembering for fans of silent comedy.