Summary
From the annals of early cinematic whimsy emerges the tale of Chris, a student whose inherent resistance to academic rigors and tutors’ admonitions perpetually casts him into disrepute. His life, a predictable cycle of youthful defiance and impending consequence, takes an abrupt, fantastical turn when, amidst the dusty ephemera of an auction, he acquires an antique Oriental lamp. Its peculiar aesthetic, rather than any premonition of its latent power, captivates him. The true marvel unfolds when, in the mundane act of polishing his new curio, a colossal, ethereal slave materializes. This formidable entity declares itself bound to Chris’s will, a testament to the lamp’s ancient magic. To test this extraordinary claim, Chris, with a mischievous glint, commands the genie to duplicate himself. Thus, a doppelgänger is conjured, dispatched to school as a surrogate, enduring the corporal punishments and jests originally intended for the real Chris. This arrangement, a delightfully subversive inversion of academic responsibility, soon reaches its tipping point. The genie, weary of its ersatz scholastic servitude, rebels against its role as Chris’s human shield. This refusal ignites a cascade of genuine pandemonium, ensnaring Chris’s unsuspecting parents, his exasperated teachers, and even the family physician, precipitating a series of escalating, farcical imbroglios that rival the most extravagant narratives from the Arabian Nights, reimagined with a distinctly twentieth-century American comedic sensibility.
Synopsis
Chris, a student, ambitious in his own way but resisting tutors, was always in trouble until, at an auction sale, he purchased an old Oriental lamp because of its odd design, not dreaming that it was possessed of magical powers which he discovered when he began polishing it. A huge slave appeared, told him the lamp was his master and that he was prepared to obey any command that its owner, Chris, might give. As a test Chris bade the slave to transform himself into another Chris. He then sent the double of himself to school, where he was made to take the thrashings intended for Chris and to serve as the butt of many jokes and experiences meant for the real Chris. When the genie finally decides that he does not relish serving as Chris' double, the real trouble and fun begins, involving Chris' father and mother, teachers, family doctor, and farcical mix-ups develop with great rapidity. The doings of "Chris and the Wonderful Lamp" in the days of the Twentieth Century rival the best of Arabian Night tales.
