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.

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 a short film by the French director Méliès and it deserves to be remembered for its clever gags. The film begins in a gambling house that is full of men and prostitutes. However, when the cops come to investigate, the men hide and the walls, furniture, etc. all are quickly transformed into a respectable clothing store (millinary shop). The ways the sets quickly flip over is really cute. Unfortunately, the gag only works so long and eventually all the party animals run away--leaving the gambling accessories behind. And, in a nice twist, the final scene shows all the police gambling away in the place of the previous patrons. For 1905, this is a very clever and watchable film.

If you want to see this film online, go to Google and type in "Méliès" and then click the video button for a long list of his films that are viewable without special software.

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.

This short comedy is pretty clever, and it represents something of a change of pace from Georges Méliès, in terms of its method. Rather than the assortment of camera tricks that you see in most of his features, this one just uses the props very creatively to tell a simple but amusing story. The story and the technique both work well, and the visual effects make it fun to watch.

The story is set in a gambling house whose management expects to endure frequent raids from the police. Their elaborate devices for protecting themselves are very creative, and they work so smoothly that you almost don't notice how detailed everything is. It's well worth watching it a number of times so that you can catch all of the details in the transformation scenes.

The visual effects are the highlight here, rather than the story, but it does have an amusing final sequence that, in addition to comedy, provides a bit of rather tart commentary from Méliès as well.