''The Triumph of the Rat'' is a 1926 British

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

drama, directed by

Graham Cutts John Henry Graham Cutts (1884 – 7 February 1958), known as Graham Cutts, was a British film director, one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built o ...

for

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

and starring Ivor Novello,

Isabel Jeans Isabel Jeans (16 September 1891 – 4 September 1985) was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films and her portrayal of Aunt Alicia in the 1958 musical film '' Gigi''. Early life and career Bo ...

and Nina Vanna.

Background

The film is the second in a trilogy featuring Novello as Pierre Boucheron (The Rat), following the popular success of the previous year's '' The Rat.'' Both films were based on plays cowrittened by Ivor Novello, Graham Cutts,

Constance Collier Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insul ...

and

Reginald Fogwell Reginald Fogwell (23 November 1893, Dartmouth, Devon -1977) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. Selected filmography Director * ''The Warning (1928 film), The Warning'' (1928) * ''Cross Roads (film), Cross Roads ...

. Jeans also returned to reprise her role from the first film, as did

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

and

Julie Suedo Julie Suedo (1901–1978) was a British actress. She played a succession of glamorous roles in the 1920s and 1930s, usually in supporting roles. Filmography *'' One Arabian Night'' (1923) *'' The Rat'' (1925) *'' One Colombo Night'' (1926) *'' ...

. A notable absence is the character of Odile, a central figure in ''The Rat'' as played by

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...

. At the end of the previous film Pierre had seemingly rejected the lure of life in high society as represented by the Jeans character of Zélie, and he and Odile had finally realised the depth of their love for each other. However ''The Triumph of the Rat'' finds him back with Zélie, and not only does Odile not appear in the film, but not even a passing mention is made as to what might have happened in the interim to cause her to disappear so completely from Pierre's life. This reportedly puzzled contemporary audiences, and while some later observers have theorised that ''The Triumph of the Rat'' is meant to present an alternative reality in which Pierre chose Zélie over Odile at the end of the original film, there is no evidence that anything so sophisticated was ever the intention.

Plot

The film opens with Pierre comfortably ensconced as the kept man of his old sparring-partner Zélie, who has apparently made good on her previous claims that she could transform him from a criminal ruffian into a gentleman accepted by the upper echelons of Parisian society. While he appears to relish his new-found social status, Zélie attempts to keep him on a tight rein by constantly reminding him that just as she pulled him up from the gutter, so can she send him back there if he displeases her. While mixing in rarefied social circles, Pierre develops an admiration for the titled Madeleine de l'Orme (Vanna), which does not go unnoticed by Zélie. She taunts him that while he may have piqued her interest, a true member of the aristocracy will always be out of his reach. He assures her that if he sets his mind to it, he will be able to hook Madeleine. Zélie challenges him to prove it. He sets about wooing Madeleine, and Zélie gradually realises to her horror that he is doing it in earnest rather than just to prove a point, and moreover is succeeding rather well. Carrying through her previous warnings, she takes her revenge and Pierre finds himself consigned back to his old haunt, the sordid White Coffin Club. There he is greeted warmly by his old colleague Mou-Mou (Suedo). However things have changed while he has been away and he is no longer ruler of the White Coffin roost. He is challenged to a

knife fight A knife fight is a violent physical confrontation between two or more combatants in which one or more participants is armed with a knife.MacYoung, Marc, ''Winning A Street Knife Fight'', (Digital format, 70 min.), Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, (J ...

which, unthinkably, he loses. In his shame he feels he can no longer show his face in the White Coffin, and spirals ever deeper into despair and destitution until he is finally reduced to scavenging among stray dogs for discarded scraps of food.

Cast

* Ivor Novello as Pierre Boucheron *

as Zélie de Chaumet * Nina Vanna as Madeleine de l'Orme *

as Mère Colline *

as Mou Mou * Lewin Mannering as Comte Henri Mercereau * Adeline Hayden Coffin as Duchesse de l'Orme * Charles Dormer as René Duval

References

External links

*
''The Triumph of the Rat''
at BFI Film & TV Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Triumph Of The Rat, The 1926 films 1926 drama films British silent feature films Films directed by Graham Cutts Gainsborough Pictures films British black-and-white films Films set in Paris British drama films 1920s British films Silent drama films