It's difficult to judge the quality of this short Melies film; I viewed it on Youtube, and only about 13 seconds exist there (it's a 19-second clip, but 6 seconds of that are a more recent title card). Most films in 1900 were about a minute long, so I'm guessing it's missing 40 seconds or so. Apparently set inside a pyramid, an actor in explorer's garb (complete with pith helmet) enters, sees a sarcophagus, opens it, and steps inside. He gets a surprised look on his face, and it appears that there may be an image of some kind behind him in the sarcophagus, but the clip ends there. Knowing Melies' style, I'm guessing that a mummy appeared out of thin air and scared off the explorer. I don't know if more of the film is still in existence, or if the clip on Youtube is all that's left of it.
Review of Les infortunes d'un explorateur
