Fun Fact of the Week 3: Wladyslaw Starewicz’s The Cameraman's Revenge (1912)

Content warning: Scenes of animated/anthropomorphized domestic abuse. 

I began writing this article with the intent to chronicle the history of stop-motion animation. I did not make it far before I stumbled upon what is perhaps now my favorite piece of stop motion – nay, film – nay, media overall. It has bugs, it has revenge, drama, twists and turns, passion and heartbreak, it is cute, it is gay.

Wladyslaw Starewicz was born in 1882 in Moscow to Polish parents from Lithuania. Artistic throughout his childhood, he got a job at the Museum of Natural History in Kaunas, Lithuania, where he would become director by 1910, at the age of 28. There, he produced four live-action films for the museum, and began working on a fifth before he was stumped. He wanted to film beetles fighting, but the dang bugs kept dying underneath the extreme heat of the lamps needed for filming. Taking inspiration from other stop-motion films of the time, he decided to try his hand at stop-motion. The result: Russia’s first ever stop motion film, The Cameraman’s Revenge, produced by the Khanzonkov Company in Moscow in 1912. This is before Steamboat Willie and King Kong, and only 10 years after Le Voyage Dans La Lune.

I do implore you, if you have 12 minutes to spare, please watch this film so you can experience its adorable, heart-wrenching majesty. It’s available on YouTube by looking up “The Cameraman’s Revenge 1912.”

The Cameraman's Revenge, which came out before the era of Talkies (movies with vocal tracks), begins with a title card, followed by the description, “Mr. and Mrs. Beetle have too calm a home life. Mr. Beetle is restless and makes frequent trips to the city.” The set, an intricately decorated room, is bathed in a warm orange glow; a miniature potted plant, paintings, wallpaper, and fireplace greet Mr. and Mrs. Beetle and their butler as Mr. Beetle gets ready to leave for work. The viewer is struck by the movements of our main characters as Mrs. and Mrs. Beetle embrace, surprisingly lifelike considering it is 1912, this is Starewicz’s (and Russia’s) first stop-motion film, and the main characters are bugs. Mr. Beetle takes off down the pale blue street in an automobile piloted by a butler beetle, and we are presented with the text, “His business always took him to the ‘Gay Dragonfly’ Nightclub. The Dancer there understood him.”

After an establishing shot of Mr. Beetle reaching longingly for a poster of the Gay Dragonfly, we cut to Mr. Beetle and a collection of other insects watching a frog doing slapstick on stage. Mr. Beetle boos the frog and drowns his sorrows, waited upon by more servant beetles. The Gay Dragonfly (gender never specified) flies gracefully down onto stage, and begins sensually throwing it back. Mr. Beetle and a grasshopper in the crowd go wild for the Gay Dragonfly. The Gay Dragonfly sits down to drink with Grasshopper. Mr. Beetle, incensed, throws the grasshopper out of his seat, and begins making out with the Gay Dragonfly. The grasshopper storms out in anger, and we get the text “Mr. Beetle should have guessed that the aggressive grasshopper was a movie cameraman.” The film cuts to an erotic/violent red light on the outside of the Gay Dragonfly club, and Grasshopper sets up his camera to film Mr. Beetle and the Gay Dragonfly absconding to Hotel Amore, chauffeured by the butler beetle. 

They arrive at the hotel (after traveling through an adorable forest/foliage), and Grasshopper films the enthralled pair enter and go into a private room. The Grasshopper catches the pair making passionate love through a keyhole, but suddenly Mr. Beetle storms out of the door, knocking the cameraman away! The Grasshopper falls down the stairs, smashing through a window. He mounts his bike and pedals away before the murderous Mr. Beetle can catch him. 

The scene closes, and we are met with the provocative line “Mrs. Beetle is also restless. Her friend is an artist.” She sends a letter, and while she waits for the reply, she holds her head – a nervous wreck. The Artist, in their immaculately crafted and uniquely colored studio, paints a picture of what appears to be Mrs. Beetle holding flowers and gives numerous chefs kisses when it is completed. The artist receives the letter and we see it reads, “Dear One – He is away – I am alone – Come! -Bea” The artist, rejoicing, takes their work over to Mrs. Beetle, who in the meantime, has set up a fire in their hearth and taken a nap on the couch (incredibly realistically, might I add). The Artist enters, dropping off their gift, and their large semi-feminine sun hat (the gender of the artist is never specified). They awake Mrs. Beetle with a kiss on the forehead and they embrace. 

We cut to the exterior of the house, and we see Mr. Beetle, unable to open the locked door. After a few moments of trying, he breaks it down with his briefcase before storming in. We cut to Mrs. Grasshopper and the artist bug passionately making out on the couch when they hear the noise. After fretting for a few moments, the artist leaps up the chimney to escape. Mr. Beetle enters, and it seems for a few moments that peace will be preserved. Then, Mr. Beetle spots the painting, enraged; Mrs. Beetle hides her head in shame. Mr. Beetle places the Artist’s hat on Mrs. Beetle’s head before breaking the painting over her. Mr. Beetle heads outside, only to find the Artist descended from the roof. The two fight, but the Artist escapes. 

Mr. Beetle returns inside and we see the text: “Mr. Beetle is generous. He forgives his wife and takes her to a movie.” With more stunning miniature set design, the two enter and we find out the next twist. The projectionist is none other than the vengeful cameraman! The Grasshopper plays the erotic film of Mr. Beetle and the Gay Dragonfly absconding in the Hotel Amour. The audience is outraged, and Mrs. Beetle begins hitting Mr. Beetle with her parasol. Mr. Beetle finds the projectionist and they fight until the screen fades to black. The text reads, “The home life of the Beetles will be less exciting in the future, we hope.” The film ends with Mr. Beetle and the Grasshopper in the same prison cell. The final frame of the film consists of Mr. Beetle and the Cameraman Grasshopper embracing each other tightly, thus concluding with quite possibly the greatest Enemies to Lovers Arc in the entirety of film history. 

I might apologize for the lengthy explanation of the plot of this short film, however, the sheer insanity of this wild ride, intricate set design, unique coloration, incredibly realistic human motion on stop-motion bug puppets, and of course, gay drama, make it a must-watch. I felt it was my duty to inform the public of this masterpiece, and now my job is done. 

Other wild films from this era available on YouTube include The Consequences of Feminism (1906) by Alice Guy, The Kid (1921) by Charlie Chaplin, and most of the Betty Boop shorts. 

If you have a fun fact or topic that you would like to be brought to light, email me at qhoop@reed.edu!