The Snake Charmer
This piece was inspired by German illustrator Heinrich Kley's sketch of the same name depicting a robot controlling trains through psychokinesis. I knew I wanted the piece to be animated and I found myself drawing more and more inspiration from 1950s American B-movies and classic Japanese Kaiju movies.
I decided to lean into the classic cinema aesthetic and imagined a lost film where this was the only surviving piece of footage. I began writing snippets of the supposed lost film, which I eventually included as the description of the piece:
Footage from the long-lost 1964 sci-fi film ‘The Snake Charmer’ has been uncovered in a sealed crate inside a defunct Utah movie theatre
The film follows a ragtag group of scientists and engineers as they attempt to stop the titular antagonist, a giant robot with the ability to control trains through psychokineses. The film was directed by Gordon Kley, a little-known but prolific figure in mid-century American B-cinema.
The film received largely negative reviews. Some outlets praised its ‘creative use of miniatures and special effects’ whilst most others labelled it as ‘derivative’ and ‘non-sensical…How can a robot have psychokinesis? It doesn’t have a brain…and neither do trains!’
It was also rumoured to have had a particularly troubled production; The actor inside the robot, Burt “Chopper” Raines, passed out three times due to overheating on set and the initial “train hypnosis” sequence was filmed on an actual train track without permits, resulting in two arrests and the collision of a catering cart.
The reel has been restored and archived by the Kley Estate. This is the only known surviving footage of ‘The Snake Charmer’.
