This is an early example of a slapstick story. It's as simple as can be. A man is so engrossed in his book – the 'interesting story' of the title – that he is oblivious to everything else going on around him. He begins in his house and then goes for a walk, the whole time reading his book. All manner of things happen around him to his complete ignorance, ending with hem being flattened by a steam-roller.
Its very simplistic stuff. It seems very basic now but I suppose at the time this would have been a pretty original idea. George Méliès had brought slapstick to the screen before this of course, and usually with a more wild imagination. What this one does differently I guess is to do this but within the framework of a simple story, as opposed to a single camera shot and one set. Later on the likes of Charlie Chaplin would make very popular feature films using the basic template set down here. So there is no doubt about its historical significance.
Its very simplistic stuff. It seems very basic now but I suppose at the time this would have been a pretty original idea. George Méliès had brought slapstick to the screen before this of course, and usually with a more wild imagination. What this one does differently I guess is to do this but within the framework of a simple story, as opposed to a single camera shot and one set. Later on the likes of Charlie Chaplin would make very popular feature films using the basic template set down here. So there is no doubt about its historical significance.