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Fantmas (1913 serial)

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Wikipedia article




'Fantmas' is a French silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, based on the novel of the same name. The five episodes, initially released throughout 191314, were restored under the direction of Jacques Champreaux and released in this new form in 2006.

Series



The series consists of five episodes, each an hour to an hour and a half in length, which end in cliffhangers. Episodes one and three end with Fantmas making a last-minute escape, and the end of the second entry has Fantmas blowing up Lady Beltham's manor house with Juve and Fandor, the two heroes, still inside. The subsequent episodes begin with a recap of the story that has gone before. Each film is further divided into three or more chapters that do not end in cliffhangers.

# 'Fantmas I: l'ombre de la guillotine' (Fantmas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine) (1913)

## Le Vol du Royal Palace Hotel (The Theft at the Royal Palace Hotel)

## La Disparition de Lord Beltham (The Disappearance of Lord Beltham)

## Autour de l'chafaud (By the Guillotine)

# 'Fantmas II: Juve contre Fantmas' (Juve vs. Fantmas) (1913)

## La Catastrophe du Simplon-Express (Disaster on the Simplon Express)

## Au "Crocodile" (At the Crocodile)

## La Villa hante (The Haunted Villa)

## L'Homme noir (The Man in Black)

# 'Fantmas III: Le Mort Qui Tue' (The Murderous Corpse) (1913)

## Le Drame rue Novins (The Tragedy in Rue Novins)

## L'Enqute de Fandor (Fandor's Investigation)

## Le Collier de la princesse (The Princess's Necklace)

## Le Banquier Nanteul (The Banker Nanteul)

## Elizabeth Dollon

## Les Gants de peau humaine (The Human Skin Gloves)

# 'Fantmas IV: Fantmas contre Fantmas' (Fantmas vs. Fantmas) (1914)

## Fantmas et l'opinion publique (Fantmas and Public Opinion)

## Le Mur qui saigne (The Wall that Bleeds)

## Fantmas contre Fantmas (Fantmas vs. Fantmas)

## Rglement de comptes (Getting Even)

# 'Fantmas V: Le Faux Magistrat' (The False Magistrate) (1914)

## Prologue (The Theft at the Chteau des Loges)

## Le Prisonnier de Louvain (The Prisoner of Louvain)

## Monsieur Charles Pradier, juge d'instruction (Charles Pradier, Examining Magistrate)

## Le Magistrat cambrioleur ( The Burglar Judge)

## L'Extrad de Louvain (The Extradited Man)

Cast



* Ren Navarre as Fantmas aka Gurn, Tom Bob and many other aliases

* Edmund Breon as Inspector Juve

* Georges Melchior as Jrme Fandor, reporter for the 'Capital' newspaper and Juve's collaborator

* Rene Carl as Lady Beltham, Fantmas' mistress

* Jane Faber as Princesse Danidoff

* Volbert as Valgrand

* Naudier as Nibet

* Maillard as Valgrand's dresser

* Yvette Andryor as Josephine

Reception



'Fantmas' was enormously popular upon its release in France, and made Navarre, who played Fantmas, an overnight celebrity. In a rave review from a 1914 issue of the French journal 'Chronique cinmatographique', critic Maurice Raynal wrote that "There is nothing in this involved, compact, and concentrated film but explosive genius."

In his contemporary critical review of the 'Fantmas' serial, Peter Schofer observed that contrary to some modern understandings of the series, 'Fantmas' was not interpreted by its audience as a suspense film. Based on a previously published and widely read newspaper serial, audiences of the time were already extensively familiar with the plot, characters, and outcome of the story, making the film much more about 'how' the story might develop as opposed to 'what' might happen next.Schofer (1973), p. 2

See also



* List of film serials

* List of film serials by studio

References




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