Le capitaine Fracasse

This is French silent film is one that a viewer could easily believe was written by Alexander Dumas--the author of "The Three Musketeers". Like this tale, "Captain Fracasse" is set during the reign of Louis XIII in the 17th century and is full of swashbuckling sorts of adventure and good triumphing over evil. As a fan of Dumas and Rafael Sabatini (the wonderful author of "Captain Blood" and "Sea Hawk"), this sort of film is exactly what I like--pure escapist fun in a historical setting.

The film begins at the crappy estate of Captain Fracasse. He's a very poor but kind nobleman whose family has fallen on hard times. He meets up with a traveling theater troupe and eventually joins them and travels with them to Paris. On the way, he falls in love with a sweet young lady. Unfortunately, also on the way to Paris, a despicable young Duke (Charles Boyer) sees the lady and falls head over heels in lust. Being a genuine jerk, he decides to kidnap the lady and despoil her--after all, she's poor and he can do what he wants because he's rich! However, the Duke does not count on Fracasse' expertise with the sword or the tenacity and resourcefulness of the actors in the company. Overall, it's a well-paced, well-acted and fun film from start to finish...and it's quite a romance as well. Well worth your time.

By the way, although a sound film and made many decades later, if you like this film, try watching "Le Bossu"--another charming and generally forgotten little adventure set during this same time period. Or, for another nice silent (and later sound film) from a slightly later time period but also involving a traveling French acting troupe, try either the 1923 or 1952 versions of "Scaramouche" (also by Sabatini).

As a poet Theophile Gautier is well-nigh forgotten today which is a great pity but he lives through his two novels 'Mademoiselle Maupin' and 'Le Capitaine Fracasse'. The former has only been filmed once to my knowledge but the latter has proved extremely popular and has thus far notched up no less than nine versions.

This time round it is Cavalcanti at the helm and what a marvellous job he has done. His direction is exceptionally 'modern' for 1929 with splendid close-ups, strong characterisation, excellent pacing and plenty of momentum. Although flamboyant in nature it is striking in its simplicity. The camerawork of Paul Portier and art direction by Erik Aaes are superb. As a bonus we have luckily been spared one of those ghastly and totally unsuitable 'specially composed' scores that blight so many restorations and instead we have piano arrangements of classic pieces, most effective of which is from Cesar Franck's Symphony in D.

Pierre Blanchar brings his customary elegance and air of melancholy to the role of the impoverished Baron de Sigognac, who joins a troupe of travelling Commedia dell Arte players and falls in love with the ingenue, played by Lien Deyers. Apparently Monsieur Blanchar's eyes were damaged by gas whilst serving in the First World War. This would explain his 'faraway' look which proved to be so effective. The lovely Miss Deyers had recently impressed as Kitty in Fritz Lang's 'Spies'. As her husband was Jewish she was obliged to leave Germany and she subsequently sank alas, without trace. Her character in this has to fight off the attentions of the dastardly Duc de Vallombreuse played by a youthful Charles Boyer, who has star quality in spades. Fascinating Roumanian actress Pola Illery plays Chiquita, a gypsy who is handy with a knife! As with Lien Deyers the coming of Nazism effectively finished her career.

In short this is a little gem and gloriously entertaining. What would appear on the surface however to be just a romantic, picaresque tale is not without its darker undertones and the grimness of the penultimate scene really packs a punch.

As Gautier himself once said: "What I write is not for little girls."

Herr Sigognac ( Herr Pierre Blanchar ) is a young French nobleman without means ( well, this it is not a tragic fact for this German count who has known such want during his youthful days, his mature days and even his twilight days… ); he lives a poor and miserable existence in his Schloss until one night unexpectedly a troupe of strolling players asks for shelter. Herr Sigognac will offer his aristocratic roof to the troupe and will be especially attracted to Isabelle ( Frau Lien Deyers ), a beautiful actress, so the next morning, after a short hesitation, he decides to join the actors and travel to Paris with them, becoming, after a violent incident involving two gypsies, the Captain Fracasse.

"Le Capitaine Fracasse" (1929) is a classic adventure epic directed by Herr Alberto Cavalcanti, a director who will do his most important work in France, the land in which he was educated, although he will direct in a number of other countries during the years. The film was based on a famous novel by the French writer Herr Théophile Gautier that obviously this Herr Von hasn't read it because it was written in French. The story is full of funny, sarcastic and cynical characters inspired by the European comedy theatre of the XVII century.

A very interesting part of the film is its novel subject, the recreation of the lives and work of those strolling players who, for a few coins, performed their comedies in any available place: small towns, populous barns, crowded taverns with audiences of commoners and noblemen alike. The film includes action and adventure involving a wicked enmity between the captain Fracasse and the Duke of Vallombreuse ( Herr Charles Boyer ) who will fight during the whole movie for the love of Frau Isabelle.

The direction is perfect, including elegant camera movements and elaborate adventure sequences with beautiful outdoor scenery. It is a well-done swashbuckler film, archetypical in many moments and indeed very professional but it is a bit too much like other adventure films of those silent days and in some ways does not stand out from them.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must direct a troupe of Teutonic rich heiresses.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com

An impoverished Baron called Sigognac (Pierre Blanchar) finds his calling as a comic actor, changes his name to Captain Fracasse, and battles with the scheming Duke of Vallombreuse (Charles Boyer) for the love of a young actress called Isabelle (Lien Deyers). Released in 1929 writer/director Alberto Cavalcanti's silent French film is the second known version of Theophile Gautier's 1863 novel, with the Baron de Sigognac finding that the road to Paris is a stage, especially in the company of a colourful troupe of performers, and the Duke snapping at his heels. Set in the early 17th century, this is lightweight swordplay stuff,but not bad visually.

Billed as "one of the best films you've never heard of", CAPTAIN FRACASSE gives us the rare opportunity of viewing a late silent film from outside America. This 1929 French swashbuckler is based on a well known French novel by Theophile Gautier and was directed by the Brazilian born director Alberto Cavalcanti. He is best remembered for his 1940's British films at Ealing which include NICHOLAS NICKELBY and the mad ventriloquist sequence from DEAD OF NIGHT.

Cavalcanti began his career as an art director which clearly shows in this film. The settings are marvelous (especially an inn called The Crowned Radish), the visual compositions consistently interesting, and the camerawork quite dazzling. The story plays out like a combination of THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE CHILDREN OF PARADISE. An impoverished nobleman (Pierre Blanchar) accompanies a traveling troupe of actors to Paris where as "Captain Fracasse" he tangles with an evil Duke (a young Charles Boyer) over the company's ingenue (Lien Deyers who resembles a young Cybill Shepherd). There is lots of swordplay of course along with a daring rescue and just desserts for the villians. There is also a fascinating recreation of the travelling theatre troupes of that time which I found very interesting and highly entertaining.

Acting honors go to Pola Illery and Daniel Mendaille as a pair of gypsies who have important parts to play in the plot's resolution. While there is nothing new here the picture is extremely well made and served up like a fine souffle'. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon or evening especially if you're a silent movie fan. The DVD features a beautifully restored toned and tinted print and your choice of a traditional piano score or a modern experimental soundtrack which was composed for the film's large screen showing in Paris in 2001...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.