''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 ...

* Hazel Neason * Marc McDermott

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

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links