This early silent film, in which Georges Méliès appears before the camera, takes the audience back to the years when cinema was just beginning to discover the magic of illusion. Standing in the center of the stage, the magician prepares to amaze everyone in the audience with his endless sleight-of-hand tricks. This short performance, in which a woman suddenly vanishes, evokes a time when movie theaters were still dark chambers of wonder. This lively comedy brings the stage aesthetics of the era to the silver screen.