At the moment just the last ten seconds of this Melies magic act survive: it looks like he produces some cards, makes them grow and sets the enlarged but still small court cards dancing. A lovely little act and typical for Melies in this period in between the big story films like Gulliver and VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE,he made dozens of these, all a lot of fun to people who like stage magic.
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.