Le Mariage de l'amour

Based upon Greek mythology, about which many moving picture devotees know but little, "The Marriage of Cupid" may prove lacking in the general appeal which a two-reeler, because of the expense and trouble of making it, ought to have. The picture is a delight, however, and suffers only by comparison with less artistic but more lively subjects which are most commonly treated. - The Moving Picture World, May 23, 1914

Informed that Psyche -- Stacia Napierkowska -- is lovelier that she, Venus sends her son, Cupid, to give her hives or something. Instead he falls in love.

It's a film version of the late Greek myth "The Wedding of Psyche and Cupid", which was intended to demonstrate that physical and psychological love must merge. It's interesting as a movie, not only for the good stenciled color work that exists, but because it uses Melies-style tricks -- double exposure, items dragged invisibly from offstage or rising from the floor -- in the context of the more modern film grammar. As a deliberately intermediate form, it seems bizarre as neither fish nor fowl nor good red meat, but in the era it definitely would have worked.

Alas, only about a third of this elaborate two-reel movie survives.

The 5-minute film issued as La Fable de Psyché (a 1909 film by Gaston Velle) on DVD by Pathé is not in fact that but this film on the same subject directed by Maurice Le Forestier (Daniel Riche, a novelist and playwright, wrote the scenario) . The Velle film was originally about fifteen minutes long and this film ran for over half an hour so these are really just fragments and, because Pathé misidentified the film, they have ended up using entirely random fragments with completely inappropriate intertitles added. The film starred Stacia Napierkowska as Psyché, Marie-Louise Derval as Vénus (with helmet and horn) and Andrée Pascal as Cupidon (podgy legs and bow).. For what it is worth the various scenes seem to be 1) the marriage of Psyché's two sisters 2) two encounters between Psyché and Vénus 4) her introduction to the palace by Cupidon, veiled because she is not allowed to see him, and 5) a scene inside the palace. Really not much sense at all as it stands. Bravo Pathé! A complete mess!