If you think you've seen this Melies film on the 2010 DVD compilation of recently rediscovered Melies pieces..... well, I'm sorry to tell you that you haven't. It turns out that it is a nicely preserved and edited copy of Melies' 1906 short THE MYSTERIOUS RETORT that was misidentified.
It's amazing that anything at all of Melies' work survives, given that he destroyed his remaining copies in despair more than ninety years ago, but they do occasionally turn up, as well as other films of similarly unlikely antiquity. So keep your eyes open at those garage sales and the contact number of a dedicated fan handy.
Sorry about my continued rating of the movie, but I can't quite figure out how to remove it.
It's amazing that anything at all of Melies' work survives, given that he destroyed his remaining copies in despair more than ninety years ago, but they do occasionally turn up, as well as other films of similarly unlikely antiquity. So keep your eyes open at those garage sales and the contact number of a dedicated fan handy.
Sorry about my continued rating of the movie, but I can't quite figure out how to remove it.