Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the

silent era 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 ...

. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials '' Fantômas'', '' Les Vampires'' and '' Judex'' made between 1913 and 1916.

Early life and career

Feuillade was born in Lunel (

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

projects. His excessively academic poems were occasionally published in local newspapers, and he acquired a reputation for his articles devoted to

bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms w ...

. At twelve, he was sent by his parents to a Catholic seminary in

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...

, which has been credited for his gothic stylization in his later career. His biographer

Francis Lacassin Francis Lacassin (; 18 November 1931 – 12 August 2008)Gaumont, and Gaumont's artistic director Alice Guy-Blaché both bought his scripts and invited Feuillade to direct them himself. Concerned about his financial difficulties and family to support, Feuillade declined the directing job in order to continue working as a journalist. At his suggestion, Guy-Blaché hired Étienne Arnaud to direct Feuillade's early screenplays at Gaumont. But, by 1906, he had gained enough confidence to start directing his own scripts, which were mostly comedies. In 1907, Guy-Blaché moved to the United States and upon her suggestion Feuillade was made Artistic Director of Gaumont. He would work for Gaumont until 1918, while at the same time producing his own films, so that by 1925, the year of his death, he estimated that he had made around 800 films. (At the time he started in cinema, a film rarely lasted more than ten minutes). He made films of all types—trick films at the beginning, modeled on those of

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use of ...

, comedies, bourgeois dramas, historical or biblical dramas, mysteries and exotic adventures—but he is remembered best for his serial films. Louis Feuillade was the father-in-law of the French film director

Maurice Champreux Maurice Champreux (1893–1976) was a French film director, cinematographer and editor.Goble p.129 Biography Maurice Champreux married with Isabelle Feuillade. She is the daughter of famous French film director Louis Feuillade. Maurice and Isab ...

and the grandfather of the French actor, screenwriter, and film director Jacques Champreux.

Serial films

The '' Fantômas'' serial in 1913 was his first masterpiece, the result of a long apprenticeship—during which the series with realistic ambitions, ''Life as it is'', played a major role. It is also the first masterpiece in what the modern critic, from both a literary and a cinematographic point of view, would later call "the fantastic realism" or the "social fantastic". Musidora as Irma Vep

He is credited with developing many of the thriller techniques used by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary '' Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

, and others.

Partial filmography

*1906 ''The Magnitized Man'', ''Le Coup de vent'', ''Le Thé chez la concierge'' *1907 ''Tea at the Porter's House'' (Le Thé chez la concierge) (the oldest of his films that survives) *1908 ''The Legend of the Spinner'' (La Légende de la fileuse) (film with tricks, Méliès style) *1910-13 "Baby" serial: ''Baby Apache'' (Bébé Apache) - 1911 (Series of comedies performed by a 4-year-old child, the little Clément Mary, later René Dary - around 90 short films). *1911 '' Heliogabale'' (ancient drama)On this movie, se
A. D'Hautcourt, "Peinture ou Théâtre? Louis Feuillade, Héliogabale et le cinéma français en 1911", The review of inquiry and research 84, 2006
/ref> *1911-12 Serial ''Life as it is: The Defect'' (La vie telle qu'elle est: la Tare) - 1911 (dramas and realistic comedies - 14 films) *1913-14 Series of '' Fantômas'' (Mystery drama - 5 films) *1913-14 Series of ''Bout de Zan: Bout de Zan steals an elephant'' (Bout de Zan vole un éléphant) - 1913 (This serial, performed by the little René Poyen, replaces the ''Bébé'' serial - 62 short films) *1913-14 Series ''The funny Life: The Jocond'' (La vie drôle: le Jocond) (vaudevilles - 5 films) *1915 '' The Vampires'' (Les Vampires) (10 episodes) *1915 ''Bout de Zan et l'embusqué (Bout de Zan and the shirker)'' *1916 '' Judex'' (12 episodes) *1918 ''Vendemiaire'' (Rural drama during the First-World-War - in 2 parts) *1918 ''

Tih Minh ''Tih Minh'' is a 1918 French film serial directed by Louis Feuillade. Plot ''Tih Minh'' tells the story of Jacques d'Athys who returns to his home in Nice after an expedition to Indochina. Tih Minh (Mary Harald), a young woman from Laos, acco ...

'' (12 episodes) *1919 '' Barrabas'' (12 episodes) *1921-22 ''Good Mood: Seraphin or the Naked Legs'' (Belle Humeur: Seraphin ou les jambes nues) - 1921 (vaudevilles - 5 films) *1922 ''

Parisette ''Parisette'' is a 1921 French drama film serial directed by Louis Feuillade. Cast * Sandra Milovanoff as Parisette * Georges Biscot as Cogolin * Fernand Herrmann as Le banquier Stephan * Édouard Mathé as Pedro Alvarez * René Clair as Jea ...

'' (12 episodes) *1923 ''Vindicta'' (5 stages)

References

External links

Louis Feuillade – Detailing the impossible
- An article by Vicki Callahan in

Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

magazine. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Feuillade, Louis 1873 births 1925 deaths Cinema pioneers French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters Horror film directors People from Lunel Silent film directors 20th-century French screenwriters

Early life and career

Serial films

Partial filmography

See also

References

External links