Director: Edwin S. Porter

Cast: Gilbert M. ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson

The Messenger Boy’s Mistake is quite an amusing little vignette considering the era in which it was produced, and also boasts a fairly sophisticated set. The simple story involves a misunderstanding arising from the eponymous messenger boy delivering the wrong package to a lady with a message asking her to wear the contents that night if she loves the writer. The woman opens the box and is outraged by the contents. Director Edwin S. Porter (Life of an American Fireman) slyly arouses the audience’s curiosity by failing to disclose the contents of the package immediately. The film runs for little more than 100 seconds, 20 of which are comprised of the three-line note on the screen. Not a classic, but worth a look.

(Reviewed 25th May 2009)