This is the story of two sisters: one of them is a semi-whore with her pimp, the other one tries to walk the line, in spite of her sisters’ attempts to debauch her. Enter a not-so-handsome young man the younger sister falls in love with.

The young Eugène Crochard, whom his entourage believes to be a billionaire following a joke published in a newspaper, is pursued by a cohort of people including his very pretty concierge. Really become very rich, he will end up being loved by the young girl he was secretly in love with. He will become the darling of his concierge.

Tartarin is the local hero in the small provincial town of Tarascon. He shows off about imaginary adventures in Africa, where he has never been, as a Lion Hunter, which he is only in his imagination. Even though the locals know he has never been to Africa, they keep hoping he will leave one day. After a misunderstanding, and much gossip, everyone thinks that Tartarin plans to actually take the trip.

Stacia Napierkowska (1886-1945) was one of the most successful of the many dancers who appeared onstage, in Paris and internationally, as Hindu priestesses, Esmeraldas, Greek nymphs and maenads, oriental harem favourites or Cambodian temple maidens. After her film debut in 1908, she quickly became a film star, first with Pathé and later with Film d’arte Italiana, creating her own roles in the manner of pantomimes; at the same time she continued her brilliant stage career. Napierkowska was an influential fashion leader, and her dark slender beauty certainly looks like the role model of Josette Andriot. La Danseuse de Siva (1911), a film by Albert Capellani deemed to be lost until recently, has been identified by Tamara Shvediuk in the collection of the Gosfil’mofonds. The print originally belonged to Sergey Ivanovich Osipov, a cinema owner and distributor.