Fleeing his wife, Polichinelle steals a charlatan's cabriolet with Pierrot. First he wins the trust of the population with free advice, then he launches a subscription for a phantom financial company. When the shareholders demand their money, he sends them away with good words and blows, until the Public itself comes to threaten him directly. Mrs. Polichinelle offers to take care of the punishment. Terrified, Polichinelle flees into the forest. Abandoned by Pierrot, he walks to Hell. There, he tries to swindle Death and stands up to the Devil who, in desperation, goes looking for Mrs. Polichinelle. She brings her husband home firmly, with the approval of the audience.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Paris

Duranty Louis Émile Edmond

Printed

Swindling

Finance

Hell

Marriage hell

Punishment

Forest

Public

Perseverance in Evil

Money

Satire of Capitalism

Bossy woman

Escape

Comical

Satirical

Farce

Ironic

French

Le Charlatan

Polichinelle

Pierrot

Le Locataire

La Dame

Le Paysan

Cassandre

Le Boutiquier

Colombine

Valet

La Mort

Devil

Intervention of the audience

Devil's apparition

Plot twist

Blow-with-a-stick

L'Homme au cabriolet

the man with a cabriolet

The rich Niflanguille goes to buy a bag of coal. He comes across the hungry Pierrot, who asks for his help in vain. The coalman cheats Niflanguille out of the weight of the bag. Pierrot hides in the bag and beats up the coalman, Niflanguille and the servant. Back home, Niflanguille looks for a sword to pierce the recalcitrant bag, but Pierrot gets it out in time and forces the servant to take his place. While Niflanguille pierces the bag and his servant with it, Pierrot runs away with a bag of money. A Gendarme wants to hang Niflanguille for murder, Pierrot for theft and the coalman for swindling. Pierrot kills the Gendarme and puts him in the sack, which he throws away, while Niflanguille flees through the window. Pierrot kills the coalman to avoid sharing the money, then orders wine which he pays for by beating the innkeeper with a stick. The Commissaire arrives with Niflanguille; he hangs Pierrot, but confiscates the money to punish the bad rich man.

Charcoal

Hunger

Poverty

Trade

Deception

Contempt

Hanging

Bad rich

Didactic

Niflanguille

Le Charbonnier

Domestique

Le Gendarme

Le Commissaire

Hidden character

Running gag

Hanging scene

Le Sac de charbon

The Bag of Coal

Catalysterium, a fake doctor, breaks into the Niflanguille's house and diagnoses the couple and their servant with a supposedly fatal disease. He asks them to stay in bed, eats their food and prescribes very expensive medicines (in fact water) to rob them. Mr. Niflanguille finds out about the scam and gets his money back. Cataclysterium is beaten by the Niflanguille and their servant and forced to take an oath to give up medicine forever.

False doctor

Medicine

Illness

Health

Medicines

Brandy

Swindler

Satire of medicine

Parody of medical language

Syringe

Lazzi

Headbutt

Chase

Les Drogues de Cataclysterium

Cataclysterium's Drugs

Casper is accused by a farmer of stealing his hay and the cart and cow that went with it. He tries to bargain over the compensation and settles the matter with a stick. In court, he insults the judge and beats the policeman. The peasant asks for him to be hanged, but Casper finds out and hangs him instead. Then he beats the policeman again. The judge wants him tortured and executed, but Casper beats him to death.