Mary Philbin

Mary Philbin (1902-1993) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She is best known for her roles in two silent Horror classics: soprano Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera (1925) opposite Lon Chaney, and the blind Dea in The Man Who Laughs (1928), featuring Conrad Veidt.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3877/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Deutsche Universal. Mary Philbin as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of The Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925).


German postcard by Bruckmann-Verleih. Photo: Universal. Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin in The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925). Caption: Premiere at the Primus Palast 5 November 1925.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5144. Photo: Universal Pictures Corp.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 105/1. Photo: Universal Pictures Corp. Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin in The Man Who Laughs (Paul Leni, 1928).


Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 279. Photo: United Artists. Mary Philbin in Drums of Love (D.W. Griffith, 1928). The Italian release title was 'Romanzo della vecchia Spagna' (Romance of Old Spain).

An angelic, sweet, quiet, young lady

Mary Philbin was born in 1903 in Chicago, Illinois, to John Philbin and his first wife and namesake, Mary. The child was regarded as a little beauty from an early age, and her mother was exceedingly proud of her and loved to show her off. Her mother was controlling and domineering, to the point of imprinting her strict religious beliefs on the child. Mary took after her shy, quiet and reserved father, whom she adored. Emily Greene at IMDb: "Many of her contemporaries remarked how she didn't seem to belong to the current age; her personality was a throwback to the 19th century with her mannerisms and religious, quiet and very gentle nature. Being an only child, Mary grew up quite spoiled by her mother. Her father would take her often to see the plays at local theatres and even, on rare occasion, to see an opera at the Chicago Opera House."

She fell in love with the stage and decided that she wanted a career in the theatre. She took up classical dancing (ballet and waltz) and was quite adept at playing the pipe organ and piano, although much to her chagrin, she could not sing. However, she did not train in an acting school, and this would ultimately impact her later career. Her best friend was Carla Laemmle, the daughter of Joseph Laemmle, brother of Universal Studios mogul Carl Laemmle. Through her friend's uncle, Mary became interested in films and put her stage career on hold. Upon seeing her first "Nickelodeon", she was bitten by the film bug and eagerly awaited any new ones that came out.

She was particularly fond of the films of Erich von Stroheim, so much so that at the age of 16, when she heard that the director was making his new film, Blind Husbands (1919) and a contest was set up to search for talent for the film, Mary tried to sign up. At first, she could not find the right photograph worthy of submission, but her mother had taken a picture and submitted it. The contest was held in Chicago at the Elks Club and was sponsored by her church, with Von Stroheim himself as the judge. The Teutonic director was smitten with her beauty and her eagerness to behave and speak well, and gave her the leading role in one of his films.

When finding out she was to move to Los Angeles to make the film, Mary at first had reservations and consulted her parents. Her parents refused until they found out their old family friends, the Laemmles, were moving out to Los Angeles as well, and they gave consent for Mary to go, but only with her parents as her chaperons due to their fear that the 'sheiks' of Los Angeles would corrupt Mary's moral character. When arriving at the studio, she found out that she had been replaced in the leading role in Blind Husbands. Mary was deeply hurt at the time and felt cheated, and was considering going home had it not been for her friend Carla, who recommended her to her uncle, the owner of Universal City, Carl Laemmle, and the man in charge of production, Irving Thalberg. Although Carl Laemmle had met Mary some time earlier and always regarded her as an 'angelic, sweet, quiet' young lady, he was none too impressed with her at the time to consider her for a contract, owing mostly to her moralistic and reserved disposition. Thalberg held the same reservations about her.

However, after being persuaded by Mary's family and Carla, Carl caved and gave 17-year-old Mary her first big part: Talitby Millicuddy, the leading lady, in the melodrama The Blazing Trail (Robert Thornby, 1921) starring Frank Mayo. Mary caught on in films very quickly and was considered by the public, initially at least, in the same league as her bigger contemporaries - Mary Pickford, Florence Lawrence, Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish, one of those 'child-woman' actresses particularly noted for her subtle but extraordinary ethereal Irish beauty. In 1922, Philbin was awarded at the first annual WAMPAS Baby Stars awards, a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honoured thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom.


Spanish card by La Novela Semanal Cinematográfica, no. 73.


American postcard, sent in Sweden by Universal Film Aktiebolag. Image: Hal Phyfe. Mary Philbin as Agnes Urban in Merry-Go-Round (Rupert Julian, Erich von Stroheim, 1923). The Swedish title was Rosen fran Paris.


French postcard in the Les Vedettes de Cinéma series by A.N., Paris, no. 49. Photo: Universal Film.


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 381.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 837. Photo: Universal Pictures Corporation.

The wildly extravagant Erich von Stroheim

After the moderate success of her first film, Mary Philbin was cast in Danger Ahead! (Rollin S. Sturgeon, 1921), the one-reel comedy Twelve Hours to Live (William Watson, 1921), and the Western Red Courage (B. Reeves Eason, 1921), starring Hoot Gibson. In all, she made six films in 1921. After seeing her work in Danger Ahead, Erich von Stroheim cast Mary in a small part as the crippled girl for his next film, Foolish Wives (Erich von Stroheim, 1922). It would become the most expensive production ever for Universal. The costs rose to a million dollars. Mary can be seen in the film as the little girl on crutches with her back turned, and you only quickly get a darkened glimpse of her face through her curly ringlets. Although her role in the film was just a bit part, Mary relished being under Von Stroheim's tutelage, and it was from him, as she always said, that she learned about 'true' acting in comparison to stage acting.

Emily Greene at IMDb: "It has always been said of Mary Philbin that when the director was really good (such as von Stroheim, Paul Leni and William Beaudine), people noticed she could be equally as good an actress as her colleagues. However, in the hands of less talented directors such as Rupert Julian, who would partly direct her later in Merry-Go-Round (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera, her lack of acting training became a real handicap for her (this is clearly evident in some of her later films)." Mary began to get more notice from Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg after Erich von Stroheim's high recommendation of her. After a minor film, The Trouper (Harry B. Harris, 1922), starring Gladys Walton, she was given the role of Ruth in Human Hearts (King Baggot, 1922). Mary began to get even further recognition, but her personal life was darkened by her father's divorce and remarriage to Alice Mead. Mary was shattered by the event and, as a result, became closer to her mother.

Mary made two more films before she received her first big break as the heroine Agnes Urban, in von Stroheim's The Merry-Go-Round (1923). The casting for this film, set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the time of Emperor Franz Josef, was impeccable, and in particular with her leading man, Norman Kerry, she would be reunited in several films. The production came to a standstill when the perfectionist von Stroheim insisted that some of the actors wear underwear embroidered with the Imperial Austrian Royal Family insignia, which infuriated Carl Laemmle. After an intense argument with Laemmle, the wildly extravagant director was dropped from the picture.

The cast was stunned, and the two most affected were Wallace Beery (cast as Agnes' father) and Mary Philbin. Beery, infuriated with Laemmle's decision, walked out, as did many others. Laemmle hired Universal actor Rupert Julian to direct. Not having met or worked with Julian before, Philbin decided to stay, and Cesare Gravina was recast in Beery's role. However, it became clearly evident that Julian was a novice compared to von Stroheim, and much of the original footage was cut or re-filmed upon its release. However, Merry-Go-Round (Rupert Julian, Erich von Stroheim, 1923) launched Mary as an official Hollywood star. During this time, Mary met the love of her life, Universal Studios executive/producer Paul Kohner, through the Laemmles. Paul Kohner was only a year older than Mary and born in Teplitz-Schoenau, Austria-Hungary (now Teplice, Czech Republic). They were immediately smitten with each other - but due to Mary's parents' religion (Roman Catholicism) and the fact that Paul was a Jew, they kept their relationship, in the early years, as secret as possible.

Mary's film career took off with such films as the comic Western Where Is This West? (George Marshall, 1923), the drama The Age of Desire (Frank Borzage, 1923), the fantasy The Temple of Venus (Henry Otto, 1923), and the action comedy The Thrill Chaser (Edward Sedgwick, 1923) with Hoot Gibson. Paul Kohner sometimes was the producer, which afforded her more time to be with him, under the protection of her parents' observance. But it wasn't until 1924, after she made good in the role of Marianne in The Rose of Paris (Irving Cummings, 1924), that Mary was to be cast in the next, most famous and best-remembered film role of her entire career.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 554/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Roman Freulich / Unfilman.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 968/1, 1925-1926. Photo: Roman Freulich / Filmhaus Bruckmann.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3239/1, 1928-1929. Photo: United Artists.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3485/1, 1928-1929. Photo: United Artists. Mary Philbin in Drums of Love (D.W. Griffith, 1928).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3877/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Universal.

Universal's biggest money maker of the decade

In 1924, Carl Laemmle was searching among the elite list of Hollywood starlets for the role of the young Swedish soprano Christine Daaé in the film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novella 'Le Fantôme de l'Opéra' (The Phantom of the Opera). Starring in the leading role of Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, was one of Hollywood's best actors, Lon Chaney, fresh from his success in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Wallace Worsley, 1923). Much to the concern of the cast and crew, the director hired for the picture was the temperamental Rupert Julian. Julian remembered Mary Philbin and Norman Kerry from Merry-Go-Round and hired them. Mary was cast in the key role of Christine, the chance of a lifetime. But the production was one of the most difficult for the cast to endure. Although Mary was working alongside many of her former colleagues and friends (Norman Kerry, Cesare Gravina, and Carla Laemmle), she had never met Lon Chaney personally before and, in keeping with her nature, was initially very shy and nervous around him.

During the filming, Chaney and Julian exchanged heated arguments. Chaney would direct his own scenes, including several scenes with Mary. Her big test with Chaney came for the climactic unmasking scene - there was a shot of Mary on the floor screaming after Christine unmasks the Phantom, and she is supposed to cry. Julian had gone through several takes of the scene with Mary, but all the takes failed to satisfy Julian. This angered the cast and crew. Julian called it a day, and they shut down early. But Lon Chaney remained behind and asked Mary and the crew to stay and reshoot the scene themselves. His approach was a success. From then on, Chaney would always be on the set when Julian was directing Mary in future scenes, even if he was not in it. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) was Universal's biggest money maker of the decade, launching not only Chaney to stardom but Philbin as well. Her next big role was the dual part of Stella Maris / Unity Blake in a remake of Mary Pickford's Stella Maris (Marshall Neilan, 1918). The new version, Stella Maris (Charles Brabin, 1925), was received with moderate success, with Mary being complimented on her ability to change from the beautiful Stella into the hideous outcast Unity Blake so well that many didn't recognise her.

When Mary was filming The Man Who Laughs in the role of the blind girl Dea, her secret fiancé Paul Kohner was acting as production supervisor and interpreter for Conrad Veidt, who played Gwynplaine. On opening night, the film was hailed as a box-office success, and Mary was praised for her role as Dea. It was then that Mary announced her engagement to Paul Kohner. But her family was outraged at the news and called a meeting to meet Kohner. Paul admitted that he was a staunch Jew, and Mary's mother would have none of it. In the end, Mary gave the devastated Paul back the ring. Mary was also devastated, so much so that she would never marry. At the dawn of talkies, Mary's film career nose-dived along with her personal life. Because of the inadequacy of early recording equipment, Mary's voice was recorded as high-pitched and squeaky. However, she dubbed her own voice when The Phantom of the Opera was given sound and re-released in 1929. New scenes with Norman Kerry were intercut with footage of the 1924 version with Chaney.

In retrospect, all of her post-Phantom films were mediocre. She received good notices in D.W. Griffith's otherwise pathetic Drums of Love (1928), co-starring Lionel Barrymore and Don Alvarado. Her final film was the sound film After the Fog (Leander De Cordova, 1929). Mary decided to abandon her film career and took up a life of self-enforced celibacy, becoming a virtual recluse in her father's home. Mary virtually vanished off the face of the earth, and Hollywood forgot her. In the 1960s, it was discovered that Philbin was still alive, living in the very same home in Huntington Beach that she had bought in the 1920s. She had never married and had spent much of her life looking after her parents. It was remarked at how youthful and beautiful she still looked, even though she was in her 60s and how her voice still had that youthful girlish quality. She had been a faithful member of her parents' church and only went out to visit friends and family, shop, and go to church. During that time, she admitted that she refused interviews and photo shoots, although she replied to her fans and sent them autographs.

In the late 1970s, Philbin experienced the first symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. In 1988, Mary made her first public appearance since 1931 at a memorial service for Rudolph Valentino. Another blow came when it was announced that Paul Kohner had passed away. Shortly after his death, workers cleaning out his office at his agency found Mary's love letters close at hand in his desk, more than 60 years later. When she was informed, Mary cried and revealed the letters Paul had sent to her and even a few after the 'family incident'. After that, Mary's memory lapses grew worse, and her old friend Carla Laemmle came to help her. At her insistence, Mary made two more public appearances - the first at the Los Angeles opening night of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'The Phantom of the Opera'. And the second is to help promote author Philip Riley's study, 'The Phantom of the Opera'. After that, Mary was never seen in public again. In 1993, Mary Philbin died of complications from pneumonia. The original Christine Daaé was dead at age 91.


Italian programme card for Il Cinema Ritrovata 2011. Photo: Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin in Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4211/2, 1929-1930. Photo: Universal.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4469/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Universal.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4720/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Universal.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5533. Photo: Universal.

Sources: Emily Greene (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

A rare find: an album with Pathé cards from 1911 (Part 5)

This is the fifth and final monthly post on a rare album with vintage cards by Pathé Frères with film stills from 1911. In 2018, co-editor Ivo Blom was in Berlin, while I was in Utrecht at the Autumn Collector's Fair in Utrecht. I found this album, the back of which was heavily damaged. The album contains 60 double pages with more than 100 collector cards, a bit bigger and thinner than the ordinary postcards issued by Pathé. All films date from the year 1911, and almost all are traceable on the website of the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé. However, even the Fondation does not have this album in its huge collection. We had the album restored by a professional book repairer. In 2019, we selected 14 cards for a post. In April, May and June this year, we presented each month another 21 Pathé cards from 1911. This is the fifth and final post in the series.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Fidèle jusqu'à la mort (Romeo Bosetti, 1911). Romeo Bosetti also scripted the film. It is unknown who the actors in this drama are, but the dog's name is Barnum.

In Fidèle jusqu'à la mort, a jeweller, having received an order for a valuable pearl necklace, sends his employee Robert—in whom he has complete confidence—to deliver the order. Moustache (the dog Barnum), the boss’s dog, insists on following him despite the employee’s protests. On the way, some unsavoury encounters lead Robert astray. He allows himself to be lured into a cabaret, where the fumes of intoxication soon cloud his mind. The employee, stumbling back onto the road, loses the precious bag entrusted to him. The dog Moustache tries in vain to remind him of his duty. Robert, weary of the dog’s insistence, draws his revolver and fires point-blank at the poor animal. Moustache, wounded and stumbling with every step, still finds the strength to drag himself to the bag, which he covers with his body. Upon returning to his master’s home, the employee, suddenly sobering up, realises the mistake he has made. Panicked, he returns to search for the dog alongside his boss and finds the bag intact. But the good dog cannot survive his injuries. He dies in his master’s arms.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Fidèle jusqu'à la mort (Romeo Bosetti, 1911). Romeo Bosetti also scripted the film. It is unknown who the actors in this drama are, but the dog's name is Barnum.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: MP (Modern Pictures), a subsection of Pathé Frères. Scene from the French silent comedy L'accord parfait (Camille de Morlhon, 1911), starring Georges Coquet.

While strolling through the streets, the painter Paul Bérier (Georges Coquet) in L'accord parfait witnesses an assault and comes to the victim’s defence against a pickpocket. After getting her reticule back for her, he realises that his protégée is charming and begins to follow her, his heart in turmoil. A nuisance who bumps into him in passing causes him to lose track of the young woman. Disappointed, the painter returns home. A piano next door plays an endless tune. Paul, annoyed, plugs his ears with cotton. But the muffled tune slips through the protective layer and haunts him relentlessly. Exasperated, the artist grabs a broom, pounds furiously against the shared wall, and fires off all the bullets in his revolver one after another. This time, it’s too much! The neighbour, furious, comes to demand an explanation. Things start to go awry when the pianist herself and her mother rush over at the sound of the argument. Paul, taken aback, recognises the young woman as the charming lady he met that afternoon. He is forgiven for his abrupt outburst, and soon, reconciled with the neighbour’s piano, notes, and kisses blend in… perfect harmony!


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: MP (Modern Pictures), a subsection of Pathé Frères. Scene from the French silent comedy L'accord parfait (Camille de Morlhon, 1911), starring Georges Coquet.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL (Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres), a subsection of Pathé. Scene from the French silent comedy Le rival dupé (Michel Carré, 1911). Michel Carré was also the screenwriter. Andrée Marly can be seen on this card, far right.

The charming romantic comedy Le rival dupé tells the story of the rivalry between two suitors: the Marquis d’Estiolle (Paul Numa), who is engaged to the lovely Estelle de Gabrillac (Amélie Diéterle), and a brilliant captain of the Musketeers (Georges Coquet), whom a chance lodging arrangement has brought to the Château de Gabrillac. The latter believes himself favoured, while the fiancé, furious at the idea of being supplanted, challenges his rival to a duel. The contest does not go his way, and the officer, believing himself rid of his adversary, hurries to his hostess in the hope of reaping the rewards of his exploits. But his eloquence is cut short by the appearance of the man he believed to be dead, who was in fact only slightly wounded. Estelle, regretting the distress she has caused the man she loves, dismisses the overly gallant musketeer. Additional actors were Sainrat, Fernand Tauffenberger, Emile André, and Andrée Marly.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL (Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres), a subsection of Pathé. Amélie Diéterle and Paul Numa in Le rival dupé (Michel Carré, 1911). Michel Carré was also the screenwriter. 

A little mystery: who was Dieudonné?

On their website, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé identifies the actor Dieudonné in  Le secret du passé (Georges Monca, 1911) and Pour les beaux yeux de la voisine (Georges Denola, 1911) as the French actor, author and director Albert Dieudonné.

Albert Dieudonné (1889-1976) became famous as the title character in Abel Gance’s epic film Napoléon (1927). During the 1910s, he worked with such directors as Albert Capellani at Le roi s’amuse / The King Enjoys Himself (1909) and La bouteille de lait / The Milk Bottle (1910), Georges Monca at Jim Blackwood, jockey / The Jockey (1910), and Alfred Machin at Le Diamant noir / The Black Diamond (1913).

In 1911, Albert was 22, but the actor in the Pathé films of our cards must have been a much older man. Was it his uncle, the actor Alphonse Dieudonné, who brought him in contact with the world of theatre, or maybe his father?

Albert Dieudonné also had a famous stage acting grandfather, Alfred or Alphonse Dieudonné. He would have been 87 in 1911.

Our guess is that the actor in these Pathé films was Alfred or the younger Alphonse Dieudonné. What do you think?



French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le secret du passé (Georges Monca, 1911) with Dieudonné and Pauline Patry. The name on the card is - as always - of the scriptwriter, Frontignan. The Fondation Pathé claims the script was co-written with Georges Monca.

In Le secret du passé, Mr. and Mrs. Rémy are a sweet elderly couple who have grown old in solitude. They regret that they have no children and spend long hours in the public gardens watching the toddlers play. However, in his youth, before he married, Mr. Rémy (Dieudonné) had known the joys of fatherhood. His son (Georges Coquet), whom he raised in secret from his wife, has grown into a man and become a father himself, and the kind old man is consumed by the desire to see his grandchildren, whom he has never met. One day, his wife (Pauline Patry) discovers the secret of his past through photographs and letters. The kind-hearted woman forgives him. Together with the grown son whom fate has brought her, she adopts the two dear little ones, whom she places in their grandfather’s arms. The other actors were Delmy, Carina, Madeleine Fromet, and Maria Fromet.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le secret du passé (Georges Monca, 1911) with Albert Dieudonné, Georges Coquet and Pauline Patry.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from the romantic comedy Le voisin de campagne (N.N., 1911).

Le voisin de campagne is set in the early 19th century. Two spinster sisters, Misses Agathe and Sophie Tricot, have taken in their niece, Simone, a charming orphan. Robert Charnier, a new neighbour in the countryside, comes to disturb the peace of these two spinsters with hearts that are far too young. Each of them asks the young man for a date so she can confess her love to him. While they wait for him… under the elm tree, Robert courts the young and pretty orphan who has won his heart. Sophie and Agathe discover their misfortune. Realising they are past the age of being loved, they bravely bid farewell to their shattered illusions and consent to the marriage of the two lovers.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le voisin de campagne (N.N., 1911).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Deux filles d'Espagne (Albert Capellani, 1911). Script by Maurice Denêcheau.

In Deux filles d'Espagne, two Spanish girls, Señorita Mercedes and Conchita (Mlle California), the cigarette seller, bear an extraordinary resemblance to one another. By a chance coincidence, Mateo (Émile Milo), Mercedes’s fiancé, encounters Fernando (Charles Dechamps), Conchita’s lover, at her doorstep. The fiancé’s jealousy is aroused, and a flower that Mercédès wears on her bodice, confirming his suspicions, sets his anger ablaze. Upon returning home, Mateo thinks he sees his fiancée in Fernando’s arms. A bloody brawl breaks out between the two men in a posada where the cigar maker has just danced a frenzied bolero. Mercédès, learning that her fiancé is fighting over a woman she believes to be her rival, rushes over and finds herself face to face with her incredible doppelgänger. Everything is explained, and a happy reconciliation brings the adventure to a close just as it was about to turn tragic. Other actors were Darmody, Faivre, Léontine Massart, Maurice Luguet, and Nadia d'Angely.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le mensonge de Jean Le Manchot (Michel Carré, 1911). Michel Carré also scripted the film.

Le mensonge de Jean Le Manchot is set in a small village in the Oise region. A young schoolteacher, Jeanne Sabourée (Albane), is engaged to Captain Jacques Reynaud (Adrien Caillard). The two families often host a mutual friend, a poor cripple named Jean Le Manchot (Paul Capellani), who loves the schoolteacher silently and without hope. The peace of these good people is disrupted by Jacques’s call to arms. His regiment is sent to the Yunnan region, where the military forces are too thinly spread, making the captain’s post particularly perilous. A skirmish breaks out in which the small detachment is overwhelmed by a numerically superior enemy, and the young officer dies heroically. Back home, the return of his orderly, bearing the sad news, deals a cruel blow to the mother (Marie Ernestine Desclauzas) and fiancée, who hesitate to tell the elderly father (Charles Mosnier) — who has gone blind — the tragic truth. However, the old man has discovered his son’s canteen on the table. He believes his son has returned. How can he be dissuaded? Jean Le Manchot, yielding to an irresistible sense of compassion, allows himself to don the missing man’s uniform. The blind man’s joy, as he embraces the one he believes to be his son, rewards Jean for the sad charade he has been forced to play. And so that this white lie may continue — who knows — perhaps one day Jeanne will agree to take his hand and unite their fates, brought together by suffering.

The album before and after the restoration

The album before the restoration. Collection: Ivo Blom.






The album after the restoration. Collection: Ivo Blom.



French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from the comedy L'envieuse (Albert Capellani, 1911). The scriptwriter was Mévisto, but according to the Fondation Pathé, Albert Capellani was co-writer of the script.

André de Baudy (Adolphe Candé), an engineer at an industrial firm, earns an annual salary of 20,000 francs. His earnings are not enough to cover the expenses of his wife, Hélène (Léontine Massart), who, tempted by the luxury enjoyed by her wealthier friends, resents the simplicity of her wardrobe—no jewellery, no furs, no lace. One day, haunted by the desire to own a pearl necklace, she enters a jewellery store and has the shopkeeper show her various sets. But their prices far exceed her expectations. Was she to give up the jewel that had promised her so much joy? In a moment of madness, she slips one of the precious necklaces into her pocket and rushes out. The theft is soon discovered, and the thief is arrested. Her husband, upon learning of it, refuses to forgive her, and the unfortunate woman must serve her sentence: six months in prison. During her absence, their daughter, little Yvonne (Hacquard), falls seriously ill. Deprived of her mother’s tenderness and care, the child wastes away. The doctor hesitates to give a prognosis when the mother, finally released, returns to beg for forgiveness. André allows her to come and care for her child, and after overcoming the illness through long and devoted care, the guilty woman finally obtains his forgiveness. The other actors were Maurice Luguet, Dupont-Morgan, Camille Steyaert, and Andrée Marly.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from L'envieuse (Albert Capellani, 1911).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL. Scene from L'illusion des yeux (Georges Denola, 1911). Script by Daniel Riche.

A mountain accident robs a young woman (Albane) of the fiancé she loved (Paul Capellani). Her sanity succumbs to her despair. Committed to an insane asylum, all the care she receives proves futile until a visit from a young doctor (Paul Capellani) strikes a chord in the patient’s mind due to his extraordinary resemblance to the deceased. The psychiatrist (Georges Tréville) takes advantage of this circumstance to attempt a decisive experiment. He does not disabuse the insane woman, who believes in the providential return of the one she thought lost forever. It is only when reason, under the influence of budding love, has gradually returned to the young woman’s mind that he decides to set her straight. Today’s tenderness will be stronger than yesterday’s despair. The other actors were Maurice Luguet, Jeanne Grumbach, Gabrielle Chalon, and Cécile Barré.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL. Scene from L'illusion des yeux (Georges Denola, 1911). Script by Daniel Riche.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Pour les beaux yeux de la voisine (Georges Denola, 1911). Script by Paul Landrin.

In Pour les beaux yeux de la voisine, Captain Michel (Paul Landrin) and Commander Raymond (Dieudonné), two old comrades-in-arms, live next door to each other. They are separated only by the house of their neighbour, Mrs. Angèle (Paule Andral). The old lady’s kindness — charming beneath her grey headbands — gently brightens the lives of the two old bachelors, who jeer at each other for her friendship. On her birthday, each of them comes with a large bouquet of violets to offer their best wishes, secretly hoping the other has forgotten the date. That day, their frenzied jealousy erupts; the friends decide to settle the matter in a fight. Both are injured, but Commander Raymond is more seriously hurt. Thanks to the devoted care of their dear old friend, they recover quickly. Captain Michel, who recovers first, sends a magnificent bouquet of thanks to Mrs. Angèle, which nearly causes another scandal. But a second bouquet arrives just then from the commander. The latter, still convalescing, had ordered nothing. What, then, is this mystery? The captain’s awkward demeanour points to him as the author of the deception, and this kind gesture of friendship finally reconciles the two rivals.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Pour les beaux yeux de la voisine (Georges Denola, 1911). Script by Paul Landrin.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Charles Prince in Rigadin est un galant homme (Georges Monca, 1911). Script by F. Mausens.

In Rigadin est un galant homme, Rigadin (Charles Prince), as always handsome and charming, has won the heart of a society woman (Jeanne Doë). He is in the midst of courting her when her husband (Paul Landrin) returns unexpectedly. The culprit hides behind a screen, where he has the unpleasant surprise of coming face to face with a fierce Apache (Georges Tréville) who, like him, has snuck in. Ordered to swap his elegant suit for the rags of his formidable neighbour, Rigadin obeys, trembling. Meanwhile, the outraged husband finds his rival’s hat. Furious, he sets out in pursuit and discovers our burglar, who flees without looking back. Rigadin, transformed into an Apache, is left alone to answer for the broken-in safe, as the couple has finally realised they’ve been robbed. The alleged culprit, taken to the police station and silenced by his own gallantry, sees his romantic adventure come to an end on the black straw of a prison cell. The other actors were Léontine Massart and André Simon.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Charles Prince in Rigadin est un galant homme (Georges Monca, 1911). Script by F. Mausens.

Source for the plots: Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé.

Sam Neill (1947-2026)

Yesterday, 13 July 2026, versatile New Zealand actor Sam Neill has died at 78. His career, which spanned over five decades, involved leading roles in both independent films and blockbusters. Neill’s filmography includes roles in A Cry in the Dark (1988), The Piano (1993), Jurassic Park (1993) and the TV series Peaky Blinders (2013). Surrounded by family, he passed away unexpectedly. Neill was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 but had been declared cancer-free.


Spanish collector card by Accion. Sam Neill in Memoirs of an Invisible Man (John Carpenter, 1992).


French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 392. Photo: Universal City Studios & Amblin Entertainment, 1992. B.D. Wong, Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993).


Vintage poster postcard, no. 2789. French poster of Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin in The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993).

The greatest spy in British history

Sam Neill was born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, in 1947. He was the son of English Priscilla Beatrice (Ingham) and New Zealand-born Dermot Neill, an army officer. In 1954, his family moved back to the South Island of New Zealand, where they settled in the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere. He began calling himself 'Sam' at school because several other boys were named Nigel. He attended boarding schools and then the University of Canterbury and the Victoria University of Wellington. Neill had a BA in English Literature.

After graduating, he worked with the New Zealand Players and other theatre groups. Neill's first film was a New Zealand television film, The City of No (Ian Cross, 1971). He worked as a film director, editor and scriptwriter for the New Zealand National Film Unit for 6 years. Neill appeared with Warren Oates in the New Zealand thriller Sleeping Dogs (Roger Donaldson, 1977), which was widely screened internationally.

In Australia, he had a guest role in 40 episodes of the popular TV show The Sullivans (1979-1980), and he co-starred with Judy Davis in the period drama My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979), for which he won an Australian award. Actor James Mason brought Neill to England and secured him a role as the adult Damien Thorn in The Final Conflict / Omen III: The Final Conflict (Graham Baker, 1981), the third instalment in The Omen series. In France, he co-starred with Isabelle Adjani in the psychological Horror film Possession (Andrzej Zulawski, 1981).

Neill promptly moved to England, where he appeared in the television film Ivanhoe (Douglas Camfield, 1982) with Anthony Andrews and James Mason. Next, he appeared in the hit series Reilly: Ace of Spies (Martin Campbell, Jim Goddard, 1983) as the greatest spy in British history. For his role, he won the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Television Series. He also had success with the dramas Plenty (Fred Schepisi, 1985) and A Cry in the Dark (Fred Schepisi, 1988), both opposite Meryl Streep, and the thriller Dead Calm (Phillip Noyce, 1989) with Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane.

In Hollywood, he played a supporting part in the action thriller The Hunt for Red October (John McTiernan, 1990), starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. 1993 was a standout year for Neill. He rose to worldwide fame as the palaeontologist Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993), who is summoned to an island off the coast of Costa Rica, where a theme park featuring cloned dinosaurs has been built. He returned as Grant in Jurassic Park III (Joe Johnston, 2001) and in Jurassic World Dominion (Colin Trevorrow, 2022).


French poster postcard by Editions Avant Garde, no. P556. American poster by Warner Bros for Meryl Streep and Sam Neill in A Cry in the Dark (Fred Schepisi, 1988).


French postcard by Editions Mercuri, no. 675. Spanish film poster for Memoirs of an Invisible Man (John Carpenter, 1992) with Daryl Hannah and Chevy Chase.


American poster postcard by Clasico San Francisco, no. 107-010,1992. Image: Universal City Studios / Amblin Entertainment. Poster for Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993).

Did I Ever Tell You This?

In 1993, Sam Neill also became well known for his role in Jane Campion's Academy Award-winning film The Piano (1993) opposite Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin. The film focuses on a mute Scottish woman who travels to a remote part of New Zealand with her young daughter after her arranged marriage to a settler (Neill). The Piano premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or. Neill starred next to Jürgen Prochnow in the supernatural Horror film In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter, 1994).

Then roles followed in such Hollywood productions as The Horse Whisperer (Robert Redford, 1998) alongside Kristin Scott Thomas and Bicentennial Man (Chris Columbus, 1999) opposite Robin Williams. He also appeared in independent, international films including the war drama The Zookeeper (Ralph Ziman, 2001), the romantic comedy Wimbledon (Richard Loncraine, 2004) with Kirsten Dunst, the Australian drama Little Fish (Rowan Woods, 2005) opposite Cate Blanchett, and the biographical drama Skin (Anthony Fabian, 2008).

He received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his title role in the TV miniseries Merlin (Steve Barron, 1998), based on the legends of King Arthur. He reprised his role in the sequel, Merlin's Apprentice (David Wu, 2006). He also received a Golden Globe nomination for Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983) and for the TV movie One Against the Wind (Larry Elikann, 1991) with Judy Davis. His other television work includes the mini-series Doctor Zhivago (Giacomo Campiotti, 2002) with Keira Knightley as Lara, The Tudors (Ciaran Donnelly, a.o., 2007) with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Peaky Blinders (Anthony Byrne, a.o., 2013) alongside Cillian Murphy.

Later, he appeared in such films as the thriller The Hunter (Daniel Nettheim, 2011) with Willem Dafoe, the supernatural Horror film Backtrack (Michael Petroni, 2015) opposite Adrien Brody, and the New Zealand coming-of-age comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016). He had a small role in the blockbusters Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2017) and its sequel Thor: Love and Thunder (Taika Waititi, 2022), both starring Chris Hemsworth. One of his last roles was as Brett Colby QC in the Australian TV series The Twelve (Madeleine Gottlieb, a.o., 2022-2025). He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991 for his work as an actor.

Sam Neill married and divorced twice. He was first married to actress Lisa Harrow (1978-1989). They had one son, Tim Neill (1983). His second wife was make-up artist Noriko Watanabe (1989-2015), whom he met at the set of Dead Calm (1989). They had a daughter, Elena Neill (1991), and he had a step-daughter, Maiko, from Watanabe's first marriage. In his early 20s, Neill fathered a son who was placed for adoption, whom he later reunited with in 1994. He wrote a memoir, 'Did I Ever Tell You This?' (2023). In 2023, Neill revealed that he had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, following swollen glands that were first noticed during publicity for Jurassic World Dominion. In April 2026, Neill said that, after his chemotherapy had stopped working, he underwent CAR T-cell therapy. A recent scan showed no cancer in his body. Neill died in Sydney, Australia, on 13 July 2026, aged 78. He was cancer-free at the time of his death, which his family described as "sudden and unexpected".


British postcard by Film Posters Merchandising, no. 869. Photo: UCS & Amblin. Joseph Mazzello and Sam Neill in Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993).


Italian postcard by Eig, no. A-3. Photo: Universal City Studios & Amblin Entertainment, 1992. Richard Attenborough, Laura Dern and Sam Neill in Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993). and Sam Neill in Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993). Caption: The sensational birth of a Velociraptor, the most intelligent and dangerous of the park’s dinosaurs. To think that, as a newborn, it looks so sweet and friendly. Dr Grant will warn everyone about this ferocious ‘little one’.


French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 390. Photo: Universal City Studios & Amblin Entertainment, 1992. Laura Dern, Joseph Mazzello and Sam Neill in Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993).

Sources: NOS (Dutch), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.