The Devil's son is down in the dumps, so Sganarelle suggests that a trip to Paris would be just the thing to perk him up. Mom and Dad wave bye-bye as he toddles off in his touring car with his native guide.
This astonishing story film from 1906 would seem to break all the rules for the era, even as it uses the standard Melies-inspired film grammar to tell its story. With its very bourgeois devil and its flippant attitude towards the utility of suicide, it must have seemed a real shocker at the time. It should also still be able to bring a smile to the face of any willing viewer.
Credit the real talents of director Lepine, cinematographer Segundo de Chomon and comic star Andre Deed. Although forgotten, he was one of the first continuing stars of European comedy, appearing of the screen first in 1901, and in many comedies in France in Italy under the names of "Boireau" and "Cretinetti" -- screen comics were more anonymous in those days, hanging their fame on on their characters and series.