Der Totschläger

Here's a very ambitious, very early feature from director Albert Capellani. Thirty-six minutes may not seem like much time for a feature in 2021 -- and indeed, it isn't -- but in 1908 it was as long as any movie anyone would see, divided into three chapters. In 1908, eight minutes was a long movie, so to go four times that long, it needed to be a major subject, and in Emile Zola's novel about the curse of drinking, Pathe Freres thought they had it.

Alas, they did not. A feature requires a lot of work and intermingled plots, and while Hugo's work had that in plenty, it required words to explain what was going on; in the silent movies, there were never enough words. So while the opening sequence, when Jacques Grétillat abandons the straight-laced Eugénie Nau for the harum-scarum Catherine Fonteney, we get it. When Mlle. Nau finds consolation and happiness with Alexandre Arquillière, we get that too. When Mlle. Fontenay tries to kill Arquillière every four or five years.... well, I don't get that.

I'm sure it's in Zola's book, and in the stage presentations, and that the people who saw this movie were familiar with it, or had friends who were happy to explain. That means, however, that this is not a self-contained work of art, and so it was back to shorts for another four years for Capellani. Eventually he would get it right, and continue to direct movies until 1922. He would die in Paris in 1931, at age 57.

Greatly surprised no one has commented on this movie yet. At the time of its release, L'Assommoir was hugely successful. Based on Zola's novel, this movie is about the free fall of human beings, deals with degradation, alcoholism and it is, in short, a very pessimistic story.

Reading the book first would help a lot understand the plot since the film is a little old-fashioned when it comes to introducing the scenes (very few intertitles explain the action rather than speaking for the characters). Dialogs wouldn't be introduced till the 10's, by then only a few years away, but despite its flaws at story-telling, the camera shots are quite complex for its day and it was beautifully filmed. If it were a talking picture, it certainly would be a great movie.

Director Albert Capellani was one of the greatest at the moment. The movie runs for over 35 minutes making it one of the longest released up to its date (10 to 12 minutes one-reelers were just the norm). Besides, it was the beginning of film d'art, and taking plots from famous novels would dignify the film industry. All this proves that L'assemmoir was a pioneer in many different aspects. Hence I can't even figure out how no one has commented on this one yet.

Something of an epic for its era thanks to a 35 minute running time, this adaptation of Emile Zola's novel examines the lives of habitual drinkers, and focuses in particular on the efforts of one man to exploit the fondness of alcohol of the husband of his former partner in order to ruin both his life and that of his wife. The motivation seems pretty thin, particularly as it was he who walked out on the woman, but it's an engaging story nevertheless. The actors occasionally lapse into exaggerated gestures, but are also quite restrained for the era.