Music, Forward!

“Music Forward!” is the order given by a lady in Colonial costume, and in march a group of five musicians, working industriously at their instruments. The directress stands them in a row, and taking the head off each, throws it onto a huge music staff and each becomes a note of the scale. The whole bodies appear again, after which the manipulator seems to wrap them up in a large sheet of music, which is then shown to contain nothing. The paper is rolled up again, and a cane is held, perpendicularly, in a horizontal position to the sheet.

Directed by Segundo de Chomón, Music, Forward! leans on a strong ensemble — Julienne Mathieu — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about fantasy titles of 1907.