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At 3:25 (1924)

Paris qui dort (original title)
Unrated | | Short, Sci-Fi | 1927 (USA)
At 3:25 Poster
A scientist's invisible ray freezes Paris into immobility.

Director:

René Clair

Writer:

René Clair

Stars:

Henri Rollan, Charles Martinelli, Louis Pré Fils | See full cast & crew »
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Photos

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Cast

Credited cast:
Henri Rollan ... Albert
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Martinelli Charles Martinelli ... The scientist (as Martinelli)
Louis Pré Fils Louis Pré Fils ... Detective
Albert Préjean ... The pilot
Madeleine Rodrigue Madeleine Rodrigue ... Hesta, the airline passenger
Myla Seller ... The niece / daughter of the scientist
Antoine Stacquet Antoine Stacquet ... The rich man (as Stacquet)
Marcel Vallée Marcel Vallée ... International thief
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Early roots of sci-fi magic are given to us in the form of a scientist who invents a ray that makes people caught in its beam fall asleep where they stand. With magical and wonderful shots of a Paris long gone, it is the adventure of a group of unaffected who with their sudden freedoms play the game of mice while the cat is away. With a narrative that sways toward a moralistic stance on the principles of fair play and responsibility, this little science fiction fable can still be poignant today as when the magnificent views were first shot from the dizzy heights of the Eiffel Tower. Written by Cinema_Fan

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

ray | freeze ray | airplane | keeper | watchman | See All (25) »

Genres:

Short | Sci-Fi

Certificate:

Unrated

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

1927 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

At 3:25 See more »

Filming Locations:

Champ de Mars, Paris 7, Paris, France See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films Diamant See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is featured on the Criterion Collection DVD for Sous les toits de Paris (1930). See more »

Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Az európai film kezdetei (1989) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Cute and imaginative short film from Rene Clair
9 December 2017 | by calvinnme – See all my reviews

When a man awakens from his nightly sleep and leaves his quarters atop the Eiffel Tower, he discovers all of Paris is empty. After wandering for a bit, he finds that the people haven't vanished, they are all frozen in place like statues. He joins up with a merry band of people that land in an airplane, and they have fun in the empty city. Eventually, though, things start to turn ugly, and they need to get to the bottom of what happened to the city.

This is an early version of films like I Am Legend, in the sense that one of the chief joys is seeing a normally bustling city like Paris devoid of movement. Clair managed several impressive shots of empty streets and parks, although the effect is broken occasionally by a moving boat or train in the distance. At only 35 minutes, there isn't a lot of time for things like plot development or deep characterization. The main point here is silly fun. The version I watched had the title cards in French only, but the story is clear enough from the on screen action that this doesn't prove much of a problem. This was listed in 101 Best Sci-Fi Films book.
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