The Demoiselle was a great design for it's age. Since aircraft development in the US stalled due to the legal wrangling between Curtiss and the Wright Brothers, it was for Europe to take the lead. Santos Dumont's design introduced the configuration and stability features that we know take for granted and led to a stable and very flyable machine, unlike the Wright brother's. Instead of attempting to capitalise on his creation, Santo Dumont made the plans available for anyone to copy publishing the design in the July 1910 edition of 'Popular Mechanics'. Many were built and as the plans were available in the 1960s, it was an obvious choice for the movie.
The plans are still available and more have been built since. I have a notion that I would like to build one. A Rotax 912 would be an ideal powerplant.