Jumbo, the trained elephant (in 2 parts)
CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : [Commonwealth Pictures
Corp., 1919?]
SUMMARY Camera iris opens from black to a smiling man
standing in front of an elephant, who is seated on her
haunches on a stool with her front legs raised in the
air. They are apparently on a stage with a painted backdrop
of a forest. The man gives the elephant a treat, who then
stands as the iris closes. Another iris effect opens on
a stage with a painted backdrop of a castle. A man enters,
dressed in a trainer or ringmaster's uniform of a dark
suit with shoulder braids and a white cap. He is followed
by Jumbo, a small Indian elephant with clipped tusks wearing
a headress or headband. Both bow to the camera. A circus
stool is rolled on the stage and Jumbo steps onto it with
her front legs. A pony and dog enter the stage and create
a domino effect behind the elephant, with the pony's front
legs on Jumbo's rear and the dog's front legs on the pony's
rear. Cuts to the dog making figure eights around Jumbo's
legs as the elephant walks. Cuts to Jumbo lying down,
then the pony and dog stand on either side of her with
their front legs on her sides. Cuts to the pony walking
across the stage on its hind legs, and then bowing with
the trainer to the camera.
Part 2: Cuts to Jumbo climbing on the circus stool with
all four legs. The trainer gives her one end of a rope
to hold with her trunk, and he twirls the other end as
the dog jumps the rope. The trainer and the dog then jump
the rope together as Jumbo watches. Cuts to the elephant
sitting on the stool as the trainer places a handbell
on a small table in front of her. Jumbo picks up the bell
with her trunk and rings it. The man sets a plate on the
table, from which Jumbo eats and then tosses aside. She
rings the bell again and appears to drink from the bottle
which her trainer brings in response. A series of jump
cuts show Jumbo crawling on the ground in a circle on
her back knees, standing on her hind legs, performing
a handstand on her front legs, balancing on the circus
stool with various combinations of two legs, and dancing
in place with her front legs. Cuts to a frame of intertitle:
"Oh! How she dances." With her back to the camera, Jumbo
shuffles her hind legs in a kind of dance. Cuts to a closeup
of Jumbo's open mouth as she walks toward the camera.
Closes with her picking up a series of flags on the ground
with her trunk and tossing them over her back. She holds
the last one--a U.S. flag--as she turns in a cirle, the
trainer bows, and the dog excitedly jumps around on stage.
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