The Fat and the Lean Wrestling Match

Edison summary: This film is a winner, it being one of the most laughable of mysterious pictures ever made. An extremely lean man and an extremely fat man are engaged in a wrestling match. The lean man attacks the fat one viciously but cannot budge him from the floor. After wrestling furiously for awhile, the fat man falls upon the lean one and crushes him as flat as a pancake. The fat man then rolls him up in a package about the size of a carpet bag and lays him on the floor, and winds up by tossing him high in the air. The lean man in coming down falls on the fat man's head, knocking him to the floor and causing him to explode in a great cloud of smoke, his body being distributed all over the stage. The portions of the fat man's body then begin slowly drawing together, when suddenly they assume their proper place and come to life, the fat man jumping to his feet and making a hasty exit, seeming glad to get out of the way of his terrible opponent.
       Méliès summary : This film is one of the most laughable of mysterious pictures made. An extremely lean man and an extremely fat man are engaged in a wrestling match. The lean man attacks the fat one viciously, but cannot budge him from the floor. After wrestling furiously for a while, the fat man falls upon the lean one and crushes him as flat as a pancake. The fat man then rolls him up in a package about the size of a carpet bag and lays him on the floor, and winds up by tossing him high in the air. The lean man in coming down falls on the fat man's head, knocking him to the floor and causing him to explode in a great cloud of smoke, his body being distributed all over the stage. The portions of the fat man's body then begin slowly to draw together, when suddenly they assume their proper place and come to life, the fat man jumping to his feet and making a hasty exit, seeming glad to get out of the way of his terrible opponent.
       Lubin summary: Two women are seen to wrestle in tights. One is vanquished and they come forward to bow to the audience. They then each throw a white sheet over themselves and immediately taking it off they are seen to be clothed in full black dresses. They are suddenly transformed into two men, who proceed to wrestle until one is vanquished and is torn to pieces by his partner, who finally puts him together, and they then bow to the audience and vanish from the picture. A short stout man and his very tall companion appear. The skinny man tries to wrestle with the stout person and tries to lift him off of his feet, which he fails to accomplish. He attempts this on two or three different occasions, when the fat man falls on him and flattens him out so that he can hardly be seen. The fat man rolls the skinny man up like a ball and his entire body appears to be of the same thickness as a sheet of paper. Finally the thin man fills up and returns to life, and taking the fat man unawares, throws him to the ground and jumping on his stomach, the fat man explodes and a thick white powder is seen to rise in the air. This is exceedingly funny and exceptionally good.