Welcome to Season 4 of Let’s Finally Watch This.

It’s 1905. Movies are in their infancy, including Dutch film. This silent Dutch comedy, directed by Willy Mullens, begins with a man napping in a beach chair until he is surrounded by the incoming tide. And then he removes his pants to keep them dry. And then…well, the movie is less than 6 minutes long, so I don’t want to spoil it.

What The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies (besides an outrageously long title): a front row seat to movie-as-novelty, extras who stare at the camera, part chase and part “actuality,” and the experience of watching the oldest surviving Dutch film.

Show Notes