And the Villain Still Pursued Her; or, the Author's Dream (1906)

A pulp writer dozes off at his desk and dreams himself into a melodrama of love and rivalry. What begins as a familiar tale soon veers into absurdity—complete with outrageous twists, overblown villains, and even a gunshot to the head. J. Stuart Blackton’s parody gleefully skewers the clichés of stage melodrama in one of early cinema’s most inventive comedies.