The Scheming Gambler's Paradise

It seems not all of Georges Méliès' films relied solely on camera tricks. In this one, we see a group of men and women gathered around an illegal gambling table. When the police raid the place, everything is transformed into an innocent-looking shop within seconds-without the use of stop tricks.

Instead, the illusion comes from clever stagecraft: props that can be turned, moved, or reconfigured in the blink of an eye. It's a technique likely borrowed from the theatrical world.

But the fun doesn't end there. When a second police raid occurs, things don't go quite as smoothly. A humorous twist follows as the group of officers begins playing around the now-abandoned gambling table.

Damn, early 20th century France must've been a police state or something! Two police raids in one night?! One might think half of the population works in law enforcement agencies. Sadly, no whacky dancing Devil were present, and the all too famous movie magic were absent too, so I have to cut a few points, but still, yet again a very nice and clever short movie from Méliès. Well done!

Scheming Gamblers' Paradise, The (1906)

** (out of 4)

aka Le Tripot clandestin

I've always found this to be one of the weaker Melies films out there even though it's still got a fair number of fans. The film takes place inside a gambling house that can quickly be turned into a clothing store whenever the police are about to enter. Seeing how the set was built in order to change like it does is clever the first time you see it but then it just keeps on happening and to me it's never really funny or fresh. I doubt this was the first time the trick gambling house was done so I can't even give this film points for that. The entire technique behind the changing of the room is nice but that's about it.

This is certainly fun. Some people are running an illegal gambling house. They have made their gaming equipment so it can be neutralized because they are subject to frequent raids by the police. Such a raid takes place and everything goes according to plan, but, unfortunately for gamblers, the police come rolling back in shortly after an initial raid. This time they don't have time and the people run away (except for one man). But there is an interesting conclusion.

The pioneering French filmmaker Geroges Melies is chiefly remembered for his trick photography today but this film is evidence that he was capable of producing films that didn't rely on special effects to create an impact. The one set-one take story sees a bunch of gamblers and prostitutes enjoying themselves in a gambling den. Their hi-jinks are disrupted by a police raid, but the owners of the establishment are prepared for such raids and the casino is instantly transformed into a clothing store, leaving the police non-plussed by what they find.

The film reminded me firstly of a scene from the Rat Pack movie Robin and the Seven Hoods in which a similar gambling den is transformed into a church hall, and also of Mack Sennett's Keystone Kop movies thanks to the later scene where we see a dozen cops wrestling each other in the dark, each of them believing they have hold of one of the gamblers.