The Crazy Ray

{{Infobox film

| name = Paris Qui Dort
The Crazy Ray

| image =

| caption =

| director = René Clair

| producer = Henri Diamant-Berger (producer)

| writer = René Clair

| narrator =

| starring = Henri Rollan

| music = Jean Wiener

| cinematography = Maurice Desfassiaux
Paul Guichard

| editing = René Clair

| studio =

| distributor = Film Arts Guild

| released = {{Film date|df=y|1924|12|26}}

| runtime = 65/55/35 minutes

| country = France

| language = Silent film
French intertitles

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Paris Qui Dort (literally "Paris which sleeps") is a 1924 French science fiction comedy silent feature film (65 minutes) directed by René Clair.{{cite book |editor-last=Hardy |editor-first=Phil |editor-link=Phil Hardy (journalist) |year=1984 |title=The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction |publisher=Aurum Press |page=69 |isbn=0-906053-82-X}} Also released as Le rayon de la mort (55 minutes), its international English-language titles were The Crazy Ray and Paris Asleep (usually 55 minutes). It has also been released in the USA as a 35 minute short subject called At 3:25. by Red Seal Pictures.

Plot summary

The film is about a mad doctor who uses a magic ray on citizens which causes them to freeze in strange and often embarrassing positions. People who are unaffected by the ray begin to loot Paris.

Cast

Henri Rollan as Albert
Charles Martinelli as The scientist
Louis Pré Fils as the detective
Albert Préjean as The pilot
Madeleine Rodrigue as Hesta, the airline passenger
Myla Seller as The niece / daughter of the scientist
Antoine Stacquet as The rich man
Marcel Vallée as the thief

Home media

The film is available on the Region 1 Criterion DVD release of another Clair film, Under the Roofs of Paris (1930). It is also available for free at the Internet Archive.