Wow! Imagine winning 25 dollars in the 1920's for writing a letter about your most unusual dream AND having it turned into a short movie? Well, Mrs. L.L. Nicholson did, and got to experience it.
The film starts off normally enough, with a mother taking care of her baby, and then stops for a short rest while holding him in her lap. She eventually slips into La-la Land and that's where the real story starts....
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson are off to a picnic to meet some friends in Marin County, and bring along their baby in a basket to the car. As they drive off, the car starts acting up in very strange ways so they pull over and check it out. They realize they won't arrive in time, and taking the baby basket decide to take a train. After the train ride, mother says it is time to feed baby. She gets out a baby bottle and removes the blanket to reveal a parent's worst nightmare... BABY'S GONE! Did the baby fall out while they were in the car? They must get back to Oakland, so they take the least obvious choice, a rowboat. Eventually they find a traffic cop, and finally find baby behind something rather silly.
I have to say, this surreal film is one of the best dream movies I've seen. The usual mundane beginning followed by ever increasing strange events and even stranger choices of action made me think of my own dreams. When I had a rather young one, I had similar dreams, and luckily usually ended up with finding baby as well. Definitely worth seeing in this collection.

Can't believe I havent reviewed this. Anyways, the Tribune-American had a weekly contest for people to submit their dreams and have a chance to get it dramatized on film! How cool is that? Anyways, a woman has a dream that the car she was travelling in from Oakland to SF breaks down, so they have to take a ferry. When they get to SF, they realize their baby is missing! Where is he? Pretty fun and bizarre. Reccomended!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/3812+San+Juan+St,+Oakland,+CA+94601/@37.779312,-122.215536,3a,75y,43h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sRzzOydzlVV5Nr70SWFF1Qw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26output%3Dthumbnail%26thumb%3D2%26panoid%3DRzzOydzlVV5Nr70SWFF1Qw%26w%3D374%26h%3D75%26yaw%3D43%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D120%26ll%3D37.779312,-122.215536!7i13312!8i6656!4m19!1m16!4m15!1m6!1m2!1s0x808f865e6402a6a3:0xf17583fde63e3e88!2s3812+San+Juan+St,+Oakland,+CA+94601!2m2!1d-122.215395!2d37.779428!1m6!1m2!1s0x808f8718cda00a67:0x34600f5dcfb4bce5!2s2023+14th+Ave,+Oakland,+CA+94606!2m2!1d-122.2406661!2d37.7936615!3e2!3m1!1s0x808f865e6402a6a3:0xf17583fde63e3e88!6m1!1e1

If you Google the address that's shown at 00:24, you'll get a street view of that house. It's the same house you see in the scene that starts at 00:54. Looks exactly the same to this day.

One of the hightlights of the Prelinger archive. Being a fan of Surreal/Unusual films, I really enjoyed this. Do any other films from this series still exist? I loved seeing a snap-shot of the 1920's, That alone makes the film worth watching.

This 1924 film was very original. I enjoyed it despite there was no sound or color. The vintage scenes just added to the production. The concept of filming the best dream sent in would probably go over on TV now.

This very early dramatization of a dream involving a woman who has lost sight of her quiet baby is notable for several reasons. Like most dreams, it is grounded in the mundane, but contains plenty of surreal elements; geographical barriers are easily transcended, serious occurrences such as the baby's operation of the auto are regarded rather flippantly by the other individuals, and curious circumstances serve to hinder the dreamer's ability to assert control over the world that she has conceived. Video manipulation techniques are used to enhance the experience. The film is reminiscent of a Kafka story, and is a fascinating artifact of silent cinema.

If it is not difficult or dangerous, would you take a picture of that house and post it here?

It would be fascinating to see a "then and now" snapshot.

Avid Fan

incredibly charming!

The automobiles, street cars, the clothes, the buildings, all reminders of an allegedly simpler time in Oakland and San Francisco, much of which is now gone. I haven't yet figured out where they shot all the Oakland scenes. The couple's house is still there and appears to be still in good shape although the neighborhood has gone downhill.

When the baby is discovered to have disappeared it's interesting to see that the father panics and the mother remains calm and collected. The baby is very cute. He'd be about 81 or 82 now. I wonder if he's still among us.

A fascinating little piece that plays like Mack Sennett working from a script by Luis Bunuel. Very warm, likeable and for lack of a better word, dream-like. Any psych professionals want to take a crack at this? I'm particularly curious about the significance of the fish....Highly recommended!

An interesting porthole into the ideas media had in the early 20th century. I wonder about how many of these films were made and if the same locations was used in each movie.
Amusing action in the background with the "gawkers" looking on and in one scene, it appears that a "Crowd Control" officer is trying to get in on the act.

Dream archetypes snap past in rapid succession in this smart little movie. Vehicles stall and behave strangely, a baby is left in a car, odd objects are gathered and left behind. We have all had these dreams, and they are portrayed here with humor and insight. The classic images of old San Francisco and Oakland enhance the experience.