La vie telle qu'elle est

This is truly one of the more unusual film plots I've seen--particularly in an early silent film. It's all about industrial espionage--certainly a topic you wouldn't expect! The Louis Feuillade short begins with the owner of a rubber company getting notice from an employee that they've just developed a formula for synthetic rubber--which will make the company a fortune. At the same time, a group of rubber manufacturers ask the boss of this company to join them in a cartel and he refuses. They can't understand why he'd refuse, so they hire a private detective to sneak in and find out why. When he does learn of the secret, it looks like the evil cartel will not stop at anything to kidnap the man with the formula--who is soon arriving by boat. See the film to find out what happens next.

Overall, for an early silent, it's not bad. Enjoyable for anyone who likes these sort of almost forgotten short films. With a good story and a nice twist at the end.