An Adventurous Automobile Trip(Film, 1905)

An Adventurous Automobile Trip (French: Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en automobile or Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en deux heures) is a 1905 French silent comic trick film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, a spoof of the devil-may-care motoring exploits of King Leopold II of Belgium, features the King engaging in a manic, implausibly fast automobile ride from Paris to Monte Carlo. The singer-comedian Harry Fragson stars as the King, supported by a large cast of stage performers from the Folies Bergère cabaret and other venues, with two cameo appearances from Méliès himself. Méliès, working in collaboration with the stage director Victor de Cottens, designed An Adventurous Automobile Trip as an innovative Folies Bergère act combining stage performance and film, with a live prologue and epilogue used to frame the filmed sequence. After this version premiered on 31 December 1904, Méliès adapted the film to be a standalone release for general distribution in 1905. The lavish film, available in both black-and-white and hand-colored versions, was a popular and critical success both in ... ()