Le parfum de la dame en noir

Gaston Leroux must be the third best known French writer after Dumas and Hugo.How many "Phantoms of the opera" do you think there are? Marcel Lherbier was the first to transfer to the screen both "le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune" and "Le Parfum de la Dame en Noir ,which are in fact one long story divided into two episodes.

Mathilde Stangerson marries her fiancé Darzac but there's a sword of Damocles hanging over their head: Mathilde's first husband ,Larsan,is still alive .Besides ,she and the criminal are Rouletabille,Leroux's sleuth ,parents.

Like the first film,it suffers from theatrical performances (Hughette Duflos) ,still close to the silent age ,but L'herbier manages to keep the story clear enough-which won't be the case with the 2005 remake- and Roland Toutain is a good Rouletabille with his youthful looks.