Stable hostler Joe loves his wife Annie, but she leaves him and their child for a wealthy gentleman, only to die destitute in London, where Joe's enduring love brings her solace in her final moments.
A woodsman leaves a hut followed by a woman with their baby. Nearby some men chop down a tree. The baby is left outside the hut, but an eagle flies away with it.
Based on the story of "Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault.
Titles read: The Christening of the Princess; The Good Fairies Fatal Prediction; The Royal Edict; The Princess is Sixteen Years Old; Searching for the Princess; The Prediction Comes True; Thou Shalt Sleep for a Hundred Years; A Hundred Years later the Prince Charming Goes Hunting; Prince Charming Dismisses His Escort; The Castle of Sleep; The Guard's Hall; You Have Been a Long Time Coming, prince; The Wedding of the Sleeping Beauty to Prince Charming.
When the entire kitchen staff falls asleep from exhaustion, a dwarf appears and animates various objects via stop motion -- including their hands, which he cuts off while they snooze -- to do their work.
The fairest maiden is crowned queen of the May Day festival and the dignitaries of the town, surrounded by the cheering populace, music and decoration, are on the huge platform to do her honor.
Whirling and frenzied, dances symbolizing life suddenly vanish to give way to macabre circles, evolving in flames and terrifying scenes reminiscent of Hans Holbein's famous Dance of Death in the Basel cemetery.
Comments
Have you watched Ein Walzertraum - O Du lieber, o Du g'scheiter, o Du ganz getrauter Fratz yet? What did you think about it?