Plot

In this spectacular free adaptation of the popular theatre play "La Biche au Bois", the valiant Prince Bel-Azor pursues a baleful old witch to her impregnable castle, to save the beautiful young Princess Azurine.

In this spectacular, meticulously hand-coloured movie which incorporates a plethora of never-seen-before special effects, interchanging panoramas and soft dissolves, the indefatigable director Georges Méliès presents a free adaptation of the popular theatre play "La Biche au Bois" by the brothers Cogniard. Following the announcement of the espousal of the beautiful young Princess Azurine and the noble Prince Bel-Azor, a baleful old witch casts a fiery and sulphurous curse on the innocent woman, and then aided by her evil minions, captures her and takes off on a blazing gilded chariot. But the valiant Prince along with the Fairy Godmother, Aurora, pursue the sorceress, from the unfathomable chasms of the eternal sea to great Neptune's realm, and finally, the abominable witch's impregnable castle. Who shall stand in the way of love?—Nick Riganas

At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry, when a witch suddenly appears. Though driven off, the witch soon returns, summons some of her servants, and carries off the princess. A rescue party is quickly organized, but the unfortunate captive has been taken to a strange, forbidding realm, from where it will be impossible to rescue her without some special help.—Snow Leopard

Tableau 1. The Betrothal of the Prince. 2. The Gifts of the Fairies. 3. The Curse of the Jilted Damsel. 4. The Boudoir of the Princess. 5. Abduction of the Princess by the Demons --The Chariot of Fire. 6. The Top of the Tower --The Castle in Alarm. 7. Flight Through the Skies in the Chariot of Fire. 8. The Armory of the Castle. 9. The Vision in the Haunted Chamber. 10. The Genius Bestows Upon the Prince the Armor. 11. The Impenetrable Armor --The Prince Knighted. 12. Embarkation on the Royal Galley. 13. Encountering a Tempest at Sea. (New Effects.) Thunder and Lightning and Torrents of Rain. The Horizon overcast by Angry Clouds. The Heaving Seas, Mountainous Waves and Rain produced by Real Water. 14. The Ship Wrecked on the Rocks. 15. Sinking to the Ocean Bed. (Real Fishes and Sea Monsters.) 16. The Prince Rescued by the Mermaid Queen. 17. The Submarine Caves --Encounter with a Cuttle-Fish. 18. Review of the Habitues of the Deep. --Father Neptune's Car. 19. The Palace of the Lobsters. 20. The Azure Grotto. --The Flowers of the Sea. 21. In Neptune's Empire. --Great Submarine Spectacle. 22. The Whale. --The "Omnibus of the Deep." 23. On Land Once More. --The Entrance to the Cave. 24. The Cavern of the Spirits. --Encounter with Pre-historic Monsters and a Gigantic Boa. 25. Sleep Overcomes the Luckless Voyagers. --The Mountain Torrent and Falls. (Real Water with dissolving effects.) 26. The Palace of Boots. --Dance of the Boots. 27. Escape from the Cavern. --On the Edge of the Precipice. 28. The Plunge of a Hundred Yards. 29. The Castle of the Devil. --The Witch in League. 30. The Castle on Fire. --Rescue of the Princess. (New magnificent fire effects and sensational change of scene in full view.) 31. The Death of the Witch. --Enclosed in a Cask and cast from the Cliffs into the Sea. 32. The Terrors of the Gulf. 33. The Palace of the King. --The Wedding Procession. 34. The Queen of the Air in Her Domain. 35. Apotheosis. --In the Kingdom of Fairyland.—Lubin Catalog