The Champagne of Rigadin

1915 16 minutes Directed by Georges Monca

About The Champagne of Rigadin

Two neighboring couples pass the time at pétanque. One of the men plants a water-filled explosive in the next garden. His son copies the trick, and the joke stops being funny. A surviving tinted print also uses an empty artillery shell as a champagne cooler.

Cast & crew

More about The Champagne of Rigadin

Georges Monca directed Charles Prince in this wartime Pathé comedy, released in France in November 1915. IMDb lists the short at 16 minutes.

Themes

  • A neighbor’s prank
  • A shell brought home from the war
  • A child’s copy of the joke
  • pétanque
  • practical joke
  • artillery shell
  • champagne
  • neighbors

Background

Pathé released the short in November 1915, while French households were living with artillery and shortages.

Look

The surviving print is tinted. One side of a garden fence is left nearer to black and white than the other.

Music

Silent.

Preservation

A tinted print has been shown via Europeana.

Notes

  • The French title is Le champagne de Rigadin.
  • Viewers of the Europeana print have noted the tinting, including a fence with one side left closer to black and white.
  • The shell-as-cooler gag is a home-front joke from the first year of the war.

Scenes

  • An empty artillery shell is set on the table as a champagne cooler.

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