Le Manoir du diable
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''Le Manoir du diable'' or ''The House of the Devil'', released in the United States as ''The Haunted Castle'' and in Britain as ''The Devil's Castle'', is an 1896 French short
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
directed by Georges Méliès. The film, which depicts a brief pantomimed sketch in the style of a theatrical comic fantasy, tells the story of an encounter with the
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
and various attendant phantoms. It is intended to evoke amusement and
wonder Wonder most commonly refers to: * Wonder (emotion), an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something rare or unexpected Wonder may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * The Wonders, a fictional band ...
from its audiences, rather than fear. However, because of its themes and characters, the film has been considered to technically be the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
horror film. Such a classification can also be attributed to the film's depiction of a human transforming into a bat, a plot element which has led some observers to label the work the first
vampire film Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...
. The film is also innovative in length; its running time of over three minutes was ambitious for its era. A single remake was produced one year later under the title ''Le Château hanté'' ('' The Haunted Castle''), which is often confused with this film. The film was presumed lost until 1988, when a copy was found in the New Zealand Film Archive.


Plot

The film opens with a giant
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
flying into a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
castle. The bat circles the room, before suddenly changing into the
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
. Mephistopheles produces a cauldron and an assistant, who helps him conjure a woman from the cauldron. The room clears shortly before two
cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...
s enter. The Devil's assistant pokes their backs before instantaneously teleporting to different areas of the room, confusing the pair and causing one to flee. The second stays and has several other tricks played on him, such as furniture moving around and the sudden appearance of a skeleton. The cavalier is unfazed, using a sword to attack the skeleton, which then turns into a bat, then into
Mephistopheles Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles i ...
, who conjures four spectres to subdue the man. Recovering from the spectres' attack, the man is visibly dazed and is brought the woman from the cauldron, who impresses him with her beauty. Mephistopheles then turns her into a withered old crone in front of the man's eyes, then again into the four spectres. The second cavalier returns and, after a brief show of bravery, flees again by leaping over the balcony's edge. After the spectres disappear, the cavalier is confronted face-to-face by the Devil before reaching for and brandishing a large
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
, which causes the Devil to vanish.


Production

''The Haunted Castle'' was filmed outside in the garden of Méliès's property in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, with painted scenery.Malthête & Mannoni, p. 90. In Méliès's era, film actors performed anonymously and no credits were provided. However, it is known that
Jehanne d'Alcy Charlotte Lucie Marie Adèle Stephanie Adrienne Faës (20 March 1865 – 14 October 1956), known by her stage name Jeanne d'Alcy or Jehanne d'Alcy, was a French film actress. Biography D'Alcy had achieved success in theatrical productions by 1 ...
, a successful stage actress who appeared in many of Méliès's films and later became his second wife, plays the woman who comes out of the cauldron. The film historian
Georges Sadoul Georges Sadoul (4 February 1904 – 13 October 1967) was a French film critic, journalist and cinema writer. He is known for writing encyclopedias of film and filmmakers, many of which have been translated into English. Biography Sadoul was ...
hypothesized that the Devil in the film was played by Jules-Eugène Legris, a magician who performed at Méliès's
Théâtre Robert-Houdin The Théâtre Robert-Houdin, initially advertised as the Théâtre des Soirées Fantastiques de Robert-Houdin, was a Paris theatre dedicated primarily to the performance of stage illusions. Founded by the famous magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdi ...
in Paris and who later made an appearance in Méliès's famous 1902 film '' A Trip to the Moon''. The film was released by Méliès's studio, commonly known as the Star Film Company, and numbered 78–80 in its catalogues at the Theater Robert-Houdin (8 Boulevard Des Italiens,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
). It remains unknown whether the film was either released at the end of the year 1896 or at the beginning of 1897, but it should not be confused with '' Le Château hanté'', made by Méliès later in 1897 and also released as ''The Haunted Castle''.


Reception

In the book ''Universal Monsters: Origins'', Christopher Ripley writes, "If Méliès was shooting for terror, he fell short of the mark. Initially the film was amusing to its audience, rather than terror-inducing... What was also notable about the film was Méliès' use of cinematography to morph characters into other characters. Though technology did not exist to create such visuals, Méliès used limited tools and his imagination to create a relatively impressive production."


Loss

The only known copy was bought at a junk shop in the 1930s-40s in Christchurch, New Zealand but not recognized until 1985.


See also

*
1896 in film The following is an overview of the events of 1896 in film, including a list of films released and notable births. __TOC__ Events * January – In the United States, the Vitascope film projector is designed by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thom ...
*
List of ghost films Ghost movies and shows can fall into a wide range of genres, including romance, comedy, horror, juvenile interest, and drama. Depictions of ghosts are as diverse as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Beetlejuice, Hamlet's father, Jacob Marley, Freddy Kru ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of The Devil 1896 Film, The 1896 films 1896 horror films 1890s ghost films French silent short films French black-and-white films Films directed by Georges Méliès Films set in castles The Devil in film French vampire films 1890s rediscovered films Articles containing video clips Rediscovered French films 1896 short films 1890s French films Films shot in Île-de-France Films about witchcraft Silent horror films