As Melies ramped up production to compete with Gaumont and Pathe, he added to his bread and butter -- which were the amazing trick and magic films he is still remembered for -- into the occasional slapstick. Here, he produces a superior effort, that still stands up today, thanks to his sense of story, timing and his set design. In an era when one joke, repeated until the camera ran out of film was standard, this one has several.
This is one of the many previously lost or infrequently seen Melies pictures that have been made available by Serge Bromberg, David Shepherd and a myriad of other hands in the newly issued DVD set GEORGES MELIES: FIRST WIZARD OF CINEMA. Required viewing for anyone interested in the history of movies ..... and a lot of fun.