''The Mystery of the Villa Rose'' (French: ''Le mystère de la villa rose'') is a 1930 French

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by René Hervil and

Louis Mercanton Louis Mercanton (4 May 1879 – 29 April 1932) was a Swiss people, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actor. Mercanton was born in Nyon, Vaud, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Partial filmography Director * '' ...

and starring

Léon Mathot Léon Mathot (5 March 1886, Roubaix, Nord-Pas-de-Calais - 6 March 1968, in Paris) was a French film actor and film director best known perhaps for playing Edmond Dantes in '' The Count of Monte Cristo'' film serial in 1918. He appeared in the ...

Simone Vaudry Simone Vaudry (25 February 1906 – 3 January 1993) was a French film actress, most of whose films were made during the silent era. Selected filmography * ''L'épingle rouge'' (1921) * ''The Black Sheep (1922 film), The Black Sheep'' (1922) * ...

, and

Louis Baron fils Louis Bouchêne, known as Louis Baron, fils (born Paris 24 December 1870, died Dieppe 30 November 1939), was an actor and singer, who took part in many operettas and comédie-musicales, and was in 30 films between 1929 et 1938. He was the son of ...

Production

The film is based on the 1910 novel '' At the Villa Rose'' by A.E.W. Mason. A separate English-language version '' At the Villa Rose'' was made by

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

. The film's sets were designed by James A. Carter. Different sources disagree over where the French-language version was actually made, with one claim that it was produced at Twickenham as the first bilingual film in Britain. Alternatively it is suggested that it was made at the newly established Courbevoie Studios in

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 ...

, in which case it could lay a claim to be one of the earliest French

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

s.Crisp p.104 Britain had converted to sound faster than France so several French filmmakers went to British studios to make films for release in France. Another French-language version of a Mason novel ''

La Maison de la Fléche ''La Maison de la Fléche'' is a 1930 French mystery film directed by Henri Fescourt, starring Alice Field, Léon Mathot and Gaston Dupray. The film was based on the 1924 novel '' The House of the Arrow'' by A.E.W. Mason, and was made at Twi ...

'', was also shot at Twickenham during the period.

Cast

as Langeac *

as Mado Dubreuil *

as Le Maillan *

Héléna Manson Elena Eugenia Manson (18 August 1898 – 15 September 1994) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1925 and 1989. Selected filmography * ''La vocation d'André Carel'' (1925) – L'amoureuse de Cardan * '' T ...

as Hélène Vauquier * Georges Péclet as Mortagne * Alice Ael as Madame Dauvray *

Jacques Henley Jacques Henley (born Jacques Dhote) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' Our Masters, the Servants'' (1930) * '' The Mystery of the Villa Rose'' (1930) * ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1931) * '' The Yellow Dog'' (1932) * '' The Regiment's Ch ...

as Le juge d'instruction * Dahlia as L'inconnue * Jean Mercanton as Le petit garçon * René Montis as Le chauffeur

References

Bibliography

* Crisp, C.G. ''The Classic French Cinema, 1930-1960''. Indiana University Press, 1993.

External links

* 1930 films 1930 mystery films French mystery films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Louis Mercanton Films directed by René Hervil Films based on British novels French multilingual films French black-and-white films 1930 multilingual films 1930s French films {{1930s-France-film-stub