''Les Misérables'' is a 1909 American
silent historical drama
A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
proto-
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
(four
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s that can be seen separately as a series, but when combined resemble a full-length feature film). The proto-feature movie is based on the 1862 French
novel of the same name by
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
, and stars
Maurice Costello
Maurice George Costello (February 22, 1877 – October 29, 1950) was a prominent American vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s who later played a principal role in early American films as leading man, supporting player, and director ...
and
William V. Ranous. It was directed by
J. Stuart Blackton.
Distributed by the
Vitagraph Company of America
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...
, the film consists of four reels. The reels were released over the course of three months, from September 4 to November 27, 1909.
Plot
The film relates the lives of the French people during 20 years in the 19th century. The story focuses on
Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...
(Costello), an honest man who is running from an obsessive police inspector chasing him for an insignificant offense. Valjean escapes being incarcerated.
Cast
*
William V. Ranous as
Javert
Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and a main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a police i ...
*
Maurice Costello
Maurice George Costello (February 22, 1877 – October 29, 1950) was a prominent American vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s who later played a principal role in early American films as leading man, supporting player, and director ...
as
Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...
* Hazel Neason
*
Marc McDermott
See also
*
Adaptations of ''Les Misérables''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miserables (1909 film)
1909 films
1900s historical drama films
American historical drama films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
Films based on Les Misérables
Films directed by J. Stuart Blackton
Vitagraph Studios films
1900s American films
Silent American drama films
1900s English-language films
English-language historical drama films