La légende du fantôme

"Legend of a Ghost" is what I consider to Pathé director Segundo de Chomón's greatest masterpiece. This was not only because of the fact it was the most elaborate film he had yet produced (containing a somewhat complex story) but also because it was the longest film he ever directed at fourteen minutes. In this elaborate fantasy short, Chomón utilizes just about everything in the filmmaking book: special effects, outdoor filming, realistic sets, fancy costumes, an insanely large selection of extras, even medium closeups. Thrown together, all of this creates a wonderful and visually impressive spectacular which, while now forgotten, was probably among the most elaborate fantasy movies of this period--maybe even the "Intolerance" of the 1900s. The budget was obviously huge to have supported all this expensive paraphernalia.

What really makes this short different from the other lavish fairy tale spectacles being produced during this period (and that includes "A Trip to the Moon") is that it doesn't appear to be largely based on 19th century theater. When the first story films were made, most directors--particularly Georges Méliès--would take a popular stage play production and add special effects to create a film version of it. While visually beautiful to look at (especially when enhanced with hand-color) these stagy fantasy features remained just that: filmed stage plays. "Legend of a Ghost" does not seem to directly borrow off of any stage productions of the period, remaining quite original in its rather complex plot. Furthermore, unlike a stage play, many scenes of this film take place outdoors, and the ones that are shot in a studio use realistic and beautiful sets (especially the caverns of hell) instead of cheaply painted pieces of cardboard--with the exception of the stagier underwater scenes. (They even used some swimming pools in Hell for the demons to dance around in). Also, while much of the film uses long shots, Chomón in addition went to the trouble of including four different medium closeup shots to make the action clearer in certain spots. By 1908, Chomón had fully discovered the usefulness of cutting, so that even in a film mostly consisting of long shots he manages to sneak several in.

Now comes the part where I address that much-repeated question that has been haunting the short ever since it turned up: What is this film about? One previous reviewer states "I'm really not sure what the story is about...What we basically have is 13-minutes of a Demonmobile driving around to various locations where other demonic forced are seen". In addition, another reviewer comments: "I had absolutely no idea what was happening but it was still an amazing film...It's disastrous not having (title cards) because you'll have no idea what's happening throughout the film!" In general, the story of this film has been quite a puzzle to most people because of the sequence of shots making absolutely no sense. Thankfully, Classic Horror Film Board has helped me out in this matter. As helpfully explained by member Doctor Kiss on that site, the copy of this film we have today is actually an unassembled collection of raw footage (raw, save the editing effects) which is jumbled around to the point where none of it makes sense. This explains the lack of continuity, the fact that what appears to be the grand apotheosis is in the middle, and the fact that in general the plot is missing. This film was not just supposed to be about a bunch of demons parading around in a huge float, it originally was meant to tell the story of a young woman who goes out on a two-part mission to restore a ghost to life: first, to go to Hell to gain a 'flame of life' and secondly retrieve a 'black pearl' from the depths of the ocean. In addition, that CHFB member has thankfully used a stencil-colored fragmentary print with the B&W we're used to in order to fully recreate the original short, complete with intertitles.

In conclusion, a visually incredible masterpiece which should be viewed in its original form to be fully understood. Nonetheless, even without understanding it, the excellent fire effects, crazy floats, and amazing sets show that Méliès wasn't the only one capable of creating an epic. For 1908, a lot more up-to-date then the many other fantasy films created during the period and very creditable in that regard.

La legende du fantome (1908)

*** (out of 4)

This French film from the now forgotten de Chomon certainly has a visual style all its own and is clearly one of the earliest examples of a pure horror film. I'm really not sure what the story is about as there aren't any title cards and I'm going to guess that original this movie played with some sort of narration like many of the Georges Melies films from this era. What we basically have is 13-minutes of a Demonmobile driving around to various locations where other demonic forces are seen. These images include a large frog, various grim reapers, other sea creatures and of course ghosts. It's hard to judge the film without knowing what type of story it's trying to tell but at the same time there's no question that the visuals alone are great enough to keep you entertained from start to finish. The sight of this Demonmobile is rather fun throughout even though it's obviously fake. There are several special effects in the film and most of them are handled quite nicely, although none of them ever reach the greatness of what you'd see in a Melies film. Like many films from this period the "animals" are played by humans in costumes but I must admit that the frogs were terrific as were the other creatures that show up in a scene towards the end of the movie. The one area where this goes beyond a Melies production is in its visual style because every frame of this film has the image full of terrific visuals. The opening with the girls running around with the fireworks was terrific and it's clear that the director wanted something going on at all times. LEGEND OF A GHOST was just recently rediscovered and it deserves the recognition it's gotten.

A visually scintillating fantasy from Spanish director Segundo De Chomón that offers arresting locations and sets, and demonstrates a vividly dark imagination at work. Without intertitles or foreknowledge of the legend it tells, however, it's impossible to understand what is going on.

It's a shame that when "Legend of a Ghost" came out that the film industry wasn't yet using intertitle cards to explain what was happening in the movie. Many times, early filmmakers worked past this by having super-simple plots or exaggerated acting. However, in the case of this movie, it's disastrous not having them because you'll have no idea what's happening throughout the film! It is an indescribable film and I am not sure I could do it justice by trying.

Director Segundo de Chomón had what seems like a huge budget for the time in this film. He uses many fanciful sets, has tons of actors in a variety of costumes and even created weird floats for the characters to use*. It all screamed 'big budget', that's for sure. And that is the reason why I STILL recommend you see the film as it was very much ahead of its time--just not when it came to the intertitle cards.

*If you look carefully, sometimes you'll get a quick glimpse of the automobile tires under the floats as well as the drivers using a steering wheel!