The third work in our journey through the pioneers of cinema serials can, in fact, be called a miniseries, since it had only two episodes, but it still fits within our theme.
In Dragonnades sous Louis XIV (1909), a detachment of King Louis XIV's guards stops in a small village to rest and resupply. One of the soldiers ends up at the home of a young flower girl and insists that she serve him a drink. Already drunk, he tries to grab the girl, but her father defends her, and she locks herself in her room. The detachment leaves, and the drunk man decides to walk through the village. Finding a pot and being thirsty, he drinks its contents. Soon after, he falls unconscious. One of the guard's officers returns to look for him and finds him, judging him dead, and recalls his stay at the flower girl's house. She is accused of poisoning him. Condemned, she is about to be burned at the stake when the braggart regains consciousness and, still staggering, heads toward the village, guided by the sounds of the townspeople waiting for the execution. Upon arrival, he understands what is happening and saves the girl from death, telling what really happened.
Charles Krauss
and actress Germain Dermoz
would go on to have long careers in French cinema. He acted in 75 productions, directed 14, and wrote three screenplays. Germain acted until 1963, with a total of 67 appearances, becoming one of the leading actresses in French cinema.
| TECHNICAL SPECS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Brazil: Dragonados de Luiz XIV | ||||
| Genre: Drama | ||||
| No. of episodes: 2 | ||||
| Production Co.: Société Française des Films Éclair | ||||
| First Release: February 16, 1909 (France); March 16, 1909 (Brazil) | ||||
| Color and Sound: Black and white; silent (French intertitles) | ||||
| Cast: Charles Krauss, Dupont-Morgan and Germain Dermoz | ||||
| Click to view the entry on iMDB | ||||
| EPISODES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Original Title | Date | Direction | |
| 01 | À la recherche du pasteur | 01/16/1909 | Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset |
|
| 02 | Fatale méprise | 03/04/1909 | Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset | |
