Fernand Léger & Dudley Murphy - Ballet Mécanique (1923-24)

Ballet Mécanique (1923–24)

Directors: Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy

Writer: Fernand Léger

Stars: Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy, Katherine Murphy

Ballet Mécanique is a Dadaist post-Cubist art film conceived, written, and co-directed by the artist Fernand Léger in collaboration with the filmmaker Dudley Murphy (with cinematographic input from Man Ray). It has a musical score by the American composer George Antheil. However, the film premiered in a silent version on 24 September 1924 at the Internationale Ausstellung neuer Theatertechnik (International Exposition for New Theater Technique) in Vienna presented by Frederick Kiesler. It is considered one of the masterpieces of early experimental filmmaking.

In its original release, the film's French title was "Charlot présente le ballet mécanique" (as seen on the original print), referring to Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character as he was known in France. The image of a Cubist-style paper puppet of Charlot, by Leger, appears several times in the film. It is only the first of many visual puns in the film — a seeming display of the film's sheer visual modernity, as intended by its creators from the get-go.