''The Phantom Baron'' (French: ''Le Baron fantôme'') is a 1943 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Serge de Poligny Serge de Poligny (1903–1983) was a French screenwriter and film director. Career Serge de Poligny was born in Paris in 1903. He studied art at the École des Beaux-Arts in the class of the painter Maurice Denis. In 1925 he joined the French ...

and starring

Odette Joyeux Odette Joyeux (5 December 1914 – 26 August 2000) was a French actress, playwright and novelist. Biography She was born in Paris, where she studied dance at the Paris Opera Ballet before taking the stage. Joyeux started her film career in 19 ...

Jany Holt Jany Holt (born Ruxandra Ecaterina Vladescu Olt, 13 May 1909 – 26 October 2005) was a Romanian-born actress, who worked principally in the French cinema. Holt married French actor Marcel Dalio in 1936, divorcing in 1939. In 1940, Holt married ...

, and

Alain Cuny René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny (12 July 1908 – 16 May 1994) was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and Od ...

.''Le Baron fantôme''
at ''Ciné-Ressources''. Retrieved on 13 February 2023. It was made during the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

of France, and it was an example of the ''

fantastique ''Fantastique'' is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with science fiction, horror, and fantasy. The ''fantastique'' is a substantial genre within French literature. Arguably dating back further than English lan ...

'' genre in film which was among those less likely to face difficulties with the censorship of the time.

Plot

In 1826 the Countess of Saint-Hélié arrives from Paris, with her daughter Elfy and her adopted daughter Anne, at a old castle in south-west France where she intends to live with her uncle, the aged Baron Carol. His servant Toussaint tells her that the Baron has mysteriously disappeared and is a "ghost"; the countess moves into the habitable part of the house anyway. Ten years later Baron Carol has never returned, and Elfy and Anne have grown into beautiful young women. Hervé, Toussaint's nephew, who has been their childhood playmate, now lives in the game-keeper's house. The countess wants to marry her daughter to Albéric de Marignac, a young cavalry officer, but Elfy has no dowry and his colonel opposes their marriage. Albéric seeks support from "Monseigneur", a man who pretends to be Louis XVII, escaped from the Temple prison and living anonymously in the locality. However both Elfy and Anne are secretly in love with Hervé; and Anne believes that Hervé loves Elfy. On the eve of her engagement to Albéric, Elfy disappears and everyone joins a search of the castle. The old baron's black cat guides Anne and Hervé to a dungeon into which Elfy has fallen and fainted. Anne privately discovers a secret room nearby which contains Baron Carol's treasures, and also his mummified body which crumbles to dust when she screams. She finds the baron's testament which declares Hervé to be his son and heir. Anne keeps the document to herself. Elfy announces that she wants to marry Hervé, angering her mother. One night, Hervé, who is prone to sleepwalking, comes to Anne's room and carries her through the castle and grounds, demonstrating that he was in love with her without acknowledging it. Anne reveals the contents of the baron's will and Hervé's fortune. Rivalries and misunderstandings lead Albéric to challenge Hervé to a duel, during which a stray shot wounds Monseigneur, who is then revealed to be a poacher called Eustache Dauphin. Elfy is reconciled to Albéric, and Anne and Hervé are united. Eustache Dauphin is appointed game-keeper to the castle.

Cast

Production

Serge de Poligny described the origins of the film in an interview at the time of its release. He explained that the starting point was a romantic idea discovered in an old magic book (a young girl on her engagement day falls into a dungeon and finds a treasure) which he then elaborated with the addition of a story about one of the false claimants to the French throne who proliferated in the years following the execution of Louis XVI. He then spent months cycling around to find suitably picturesque locations, and selected the Château de Rauzan in Gironde and the in l'Oise. Only after establishing the spirit and mood of the production did he allow himself to consider the technical aspects of filming it The screenplay was written by

Louis Chavance Louis Chavance (1907–1979) was a French screenwriter. He also worked occasionally as a film editor and assistant director. He is best known for his screenplay for ''Le Corbeau'' which he first wrote in 1933 although the film was not made for anot ...

in collaboration with Serge de Poligny, and

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

wrote the dialogue. The film's art direction was by Jacques Krauss and the costumes were designed by

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

. Apart from the location filming at Rauzan and Pontarmé, the interiors for the film were shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris.

Reception

The film was praised for its "unusual and poetic climate" and for the intelligence and subtlety of its direction. This film along with '' La Fiancée des ténèbres'' (1945) have been judged to be the best in the career of Serge de Poligny, sharing their sense of a mysterious and captivating atmosphere.''Dictionnaire du cinéma français'', sous la direction de Jean-Loup Passek. Paris: Larousse, 1987. p. 338.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom Baron, The 1943 films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Serge de Poligny Films with screenplays by Jean Cocteau Films set in the 19th century 1940s historical drama films French historical drama films French romantic fantasy films French black-and-white films 1943 drama films 1940s French films