An Adventurous Automobile Trip (1904)

Original title

Le Raid Paris-Monte Carlo en deux heures

Directed by

Georges Méliès

Genre

fantasy film, comedy film, silent film, adventure film

Country

France

Runtime

10 min

Rating

5.8 of 10 from 21 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A king takes a wild and impossibly fast car trip from Paris to Monte Carlo. The film is a comedic spoof that uses tricks and stage-like performances to show his reckless journey.

fast-pacedplayfulabsurdwhimsicallightheartedchaotictheatricalenergeticfar-fetched

What happens

An Adventurous Automobile Trip (French: Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en automobile or Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en deux heures) is a 1904 French silent comic trick film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, a spoof of the devil-may-care motoring exploits of King Leopold II of Belgium, features the King engaging in a manic, implausibly fast automobile ride from Paris to Monte Carlo. The singer-comedian Harry Fragson stars as the King, supported by a large cast of stage performers from the Folies Bergère cabaret and other venues, with two cameo appearances from Méliès himself. Méliès, working in collaboration with the stage director Victor de Cottens, designed An Adventurous Automobile Trip as an innovative Folies Bergère act combining stage performance and film, with a live prologue and epilogue used to frame the filmed sequence. After this version premiered on 31 December 1904, Méliès adapted the film to be a standalone release for general distribution in 1905. The lavish film, available in both black-and-white and hand-colored versions, was a popular and critical success both in France and in America. However, the film's high production values made it too expensive for many exhibitors, one of several factors that sent Méliès's career into decline. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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