A 6-minute silent film where a man's new arm goes rogue—and shoplifting ensues.
A one-armed street peddler notices that a well-to-do man has dropped his ring. He returns it to him. The wealthy man is very grateful and, to show his appreciation, takes the peddler to a 'Limb Store', where he buys him a new arm. The recipient soon discovers that this new arm has a will of its own - causing him considerable embarrassment.
Practical Effects
Stop-motion arm animation—primitive but ingenious.
Direction
Blackton's frantic editing builds comic panic.
Costume
The arm itself: star of the show, scene-stealer.
Director
J. Stuart Blackton
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Vitagraph Studios pioneered trick photography here—this 'limb with a mind' gag influenced everything from Evil Dead to Thing Addams.
Paul Panzer, our one-armed star, later played villains in 400+ films—this might be his only heroic-ish role before the arm betrayal.
US
