L'aspirateur is a French silent short film directed by Segundo de Chomón and distributed in English-speaking countries under the titles The Aspirator and The Vacuum Cleaner.

[2][3] The film combines stop-motion tricks with continuity editing and cross-cutting.

[4] Two men give the street vacuum cleaner they have just stolen an original purpose.

Not content with collecting the various utensils they find on their way, they take turns sucking up the peaceful passers-by who have the misfortune to pass within their reach: nannies, lovers, town sergeants, are irresistibly attracted and snatched up one after the other, despite their desperate efforts, by this voracious hoover.

Fortunately, the mischievous criminals are finally "sucked up" in their turn while they are resting from their "work" on the terrace of a wine merchant, by the policemen launched in pursuit.

Then the device, delicately turned in the opposite direction, gives back to freedom the unfortunate victims that it had sucked up.

[3] The mention of a 1906 release date in IMDb may have resulted from a confusion with the 1906 film directed by Walter R. Booth, The Vacuum Cleaner Nightmare, which is based on a similar idea, albeit happening in a nightmare only.

[5] Richard Abel mentions this film as an example of "Pre-Feature, Single-Reel Story Film", noting that it "comes to a kind of climax in a sequence of alternating exterior and interior (shots), when they empty an apartment of its furniture and even pull in a maid from the next room.

One of the men climbs inside and the other gives him the pipe of the vacuum cleaner.

The facade of a police station with an officer standing in front of the door.

A man with a bowler hat accompanied by one wearing a uniform enter left.

They unfold the pipe of the machine and suck up the two sitting men before exiting right.

The man with the bowler hat cranks the machine counterclockwise and all the contents which had been sucked in reappear.