Excelsior! (1901)
Article 5639 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-25-2019
Directed by Georges Melies
Featuring Georges Melies
Country: France
What it is: Melies magic film

A magician performs a series of tricks, often with the help of a hapless assistant.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve covered a Melies short, but I’m not surprised there’s still a handful of extant ones that I’ve not yet covered. This is another example of one of his most common themes; a cinematic version of a stage magician at work, though often with cinematic tricks rather than sleight of hand. There’s not a whole lot here that I haven’t seen from him before, but his showmanship and humor help carry this one. In fact, I’d say this one is one of his better magic trick shorts.