Excelsior really was the prince of magicians. His trickery touched the limits of the temporal world. In matters of speed and sleight of hand, a more accomplished artist could not be imagined.
Is this the man we see in Excelsior!: a brief film, only two minutes long; and old—dating to nearly the dawn of the medium? In it, Excelsior delivers his stage show, with an assistant who doubles as his chief prop. The magician is played by Georges Méliès, the French cartoonist, theatre owner and (yes) stage magician, turned filmmaker.
