Jaque Catelain

El Dorado is the fifth film directed by Marcel L’Herbier for Gaumont’s prestige collection ‘Pax’ which was characterised by high production quality. Its most striking aspect is the invention of new elements of the cinematographic language. L’Herbier uses distortions of the images to convey different messages or impressions: the faces of drinkers become distorted as they become drunk, Sibilla’s face becomes blurred as she thinks about her sick child, or photographs of the Alhambra are distorted to express the artistic vision of the painter intending to represent them.Read More »

PLOT: Ludivine, a lttle tomboy, takes on the too polite Delphin. Being caught, and punished, she wants him and his father to be dead. When the latter dies, she feels guilty and takes Delphin under her wing.Read More »

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Claire Lescot is a famous first lady. All men want to be loved by her and among them is the young scientist Einar Norsen. When she mocks at him, he leaves her house with the declared intention to kill himself.Read More »

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Another amazing circus film gets an Alloy Orchestra score. Until its recent restoration by Lobster Films in France, Gallery of Monsters was virtually unknown and unseen. Despite the film’s title, it’s not a horror film. It’s an exciting and sometimes tender love story that follows the lives of circus folk, and particularly the loving relationship of Riquet and his wife, Ralda. The “monsters,” as the intertitles explain, are the evil circus owner and the lion tamer, whose unwanted advances are refused by the beautiful dancer, Ralda. The cast of characters are the staples of a circus side show – a giant, a little person, a bearded lady, a woman with only half a body, and others – who are sympathetically depicted as a supportive family, and come to the aid of the couple. Excellent cinematography, surreal costumes, and a terrifying lion attack bring this intriguing story to life.Read More »

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A few months later, (L’Herbier) directed Rose-France, an excessive and disturbing poem, filmed in the form of a weird symbolist collage. In this movie he started to experiment with special effects and celebrated the young actor Jaque Catelain, an expressive beauty, a true Dorian Gray, whose presence would mark almost all of his silent films. His mastery of the medium earned him a two-year contract at the Gaumont Film Company.Read More »

Adapted from Bernstein’s Le Bercail, the film follows Evelyne’s attempt to reconnect with her family after a traumatizing experience with a young writer.

Evelyne Landry, intellectuelle et passionnée, a épousé un homme bon et droit, mais fermé à tout ce qui intéresse la jeune femme. Jacques, écrivain secondaire et arriviste, la persuade de son amour. Elle s’enfuit avec lui abandonnant mari et enfant. Sa liaison ne lui apporte que déception, elle rompt avec Jacques et, repentante, demande son pardon à Etienne Landry qui finit par le lui accorder.Read More »

Based on a play by Charles Méré, the 1926 French production Le Vertige was released in the U.S. two years later as “The Living Image”, or “The Lady of Petrograd”. The film opens with the overthrow of the Czar during the 1917 Russian revolution. The family of General Count Svirsky (Roger Karl) cower in their home, certain that the mobs of angry peasants will tear them apart. But even in this moment of crisis, Svirsky can find time to murder the young officer who has been having an affair with Countess Svirska (Emmy Lynn). The Countess knows what has happened, but she loyally remains with her husband as they escape to the safety of the French Riviera. It is here that the Countess meets Henri de Cassel (Jaque Catelain), the “living image” of her dead lover. Once again, the General prepares to shoot the Countess’ paramour in cold blood — but this time, the outcome is quite different.From Hal EricksonRead More »