“The madrigal of summer seas, Attuned to sweet rehearsal; And dreams, gowned in a twilight breeze, – Love’s gage, universal.” The first intertitle sets the exalted tone of this ‘enchanted’, romantic tale, in which a man, gazing over the sea with his love, recounts a dream he had. His dream is imagined through a series of paintings of fantastical scenes full of symbolism. In the 18 February 1922 issue of “Moving Picture World”, Fritz Tidden described The Enchanted City as “A distinctively worthwhile, artistic novelty, which establishes a new standard for comparison for moving pictures”. Such high praise for the film’s inventiveness can be explained by the fact that it uses a new technique of combining live action with painting. Warren A. Newcombe had a background in fine arts and printmaking and entered film production as a painter. He directed only two short films, but became successful in the area of matte painting and special effects. He worked with D.W. Griffith and for MGM, among others, and became known for a technique he developed in which live action was seamlessly merged with matte painting.

Janneke van Dalen