A static one-shot comedy, this Edison film features a pair of buffoonish characters named Alphonse and Gaston who enter a rough saloon and spend the first half of the film each insisting that the other takes first swig from the bottle of booze they've bought. While these excessively polite gents repeatedly pass the bottle back and forth a scruffy cowboy enters the bar and begins shooting at the hapless pairs' feet to make them dance. Obviously humiliation and emasculation were legitimate subjects for movies back in the early years of the twentieth century. And yes, I am babbling in order to satisfy IMDb's 10 line rule...
4 Reviews
I said Dance!!
MrCritical12 November 2003
Alphonse and Gaston is based on the comic strip characters created by Frederick Burr Opper. Filmed Oct. 16, 1903, in the Biograph New York City studio.
This short comedic film takes place in a western style saloon. The characters involved are a bartender, a couple of overly courteous clowns, and a cowboy.
Overall the film is not that bad. The clowns are a bit annoying but the story being told and the overall look and visual of the film is pretty good.
6* (10* Rating System)
This short comedic film takes place in a western style saloon. The characters involved are a bartender, a couple of overly courteous clowns, and a cowboy.
Overall the film is not that bad. The clowns are a bit annoying but the story being told and the overall look and visual of the film is pretty good.
6* (10* Rating System)
Just Take a Drink
Michael_Elliott7 August 2015
Alphonse and Gaston, No. 3 (1903)
Alphonse and Gaston walk into a bar where they order a bottle of whiskey but they keep passing the bottle back and forth waiting for one to take the first sip. A cowboy grows tired and this and decides to shoot off some rounds to make them dance. This was "No. 3" so obvious the first two must have gone off rather well but sadly those two appear to be lost. As far as the film goes, it's pretty poorly made even by 1903 standards. I saw this because there are quite a few times where actors on the left side of the screen are out of the frame. I guess a second take couldn't be done for whatever reason. Even the comedy bit is rather unfunny and the entire dancing bit isn't any better.
Alphonse and Gaston walk into a bar where they order a bottle of whiskey but they keep passing the bottle back and forth waiting for one to take the first sip. A cowboy grows tired and this and decides to shoot off some rounds to make them dance. This was "No. 3" so obvious the first two must have gone off rather well but sadly those two appear to be lost. As far as the film goes, it's pretty poorly made even by 1903 standards. I saw this because there are quite a few times where actors on the left side of the screen are out of the frame. I guess a second take couldn't be done for whatever reason. Even the comedy bit is rather unfunny and the entire dancing bit isn't any better.
An interesting early piece of western cinema
lhmcm25 September 2022
Alphonse and Gaston no. 3 is a 1903 western short film in which Alphonse and Gaston, two westerners in a saloon are forced to dance but a cowboys. It's worth seeing for being an early piece of western cinema. If it had come out a few years later, I wouldn't have even heard of it. But it's still a little piece of history, and worth watching. Obviously there's not much to it, from the single camera angle and the four-person cast of characters and single location, it's just a simple little short. But you may as well watch it if you appreciate western cinema, because it's a good minute of you time.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
