Gaston Ravel (1878–1958) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director. At Gaumont, he directed Musidora in various silent shorts. Later, he co-directed with Tony Lekain several films, including the historical film Le Collier de la reine / The Queen's Necklace. Ravel made over sixty films, in France, Italy and Germany.
French journal
La Petite Illustration, no. 385, 9 June 1928. A special on the French silent film
Madame Récamier (Gaston Ravel, Tony Lekain, 1928). Here are the two directors, photos by Maniezzi and G.L. Manuel.
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 35.
Maria Carmi as Isabella Inghirami in the Italian silent film
Forse che sí, forse che no / Maybe Yes, Maybe No (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on
Gabriele d'Annunzio's eponymous novel (1910).
Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana / Medusa Film.
Carlo Gualandri in the Italian period piece
Saracinesca (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on the novel by
Frances Marion Crawford. Caption: Don Giovanni Saracinesca.
Italian postcard. Photo: Medusa Film / Unione Cinematografica Italiana.
Helena (Elena) Makowska and
Guido Trento in the Italian silent film
Idillio tragico (Gaston Ravel, 1922), based on a novel by
Paul Bourget. Caption: Jealousy.
Picture from the French journal
La Petite Illustration, no. 385, 9 June 1928. Special on the French silent film
Madame Récamier (Gaston Ravel, Tony Lekain, 1928), starring
Marie Bell as Juliette Récamier and
Françoise Rosay as Madame de Staël.
French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 301.
Ernst Van Duren in the French silent film
Figaro (Gaston Ravel, 1929), based on the play by
Pierre Beaumarchais. Van Duren played the title role. Location shooting was done at the Château de Rochefort-sur-Yvelines.
French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 309.
Ernst Van Duren and
Marie Bell in the French silent film
Figaro (Gaston Ravel, 1929), based on the play by
Pierre Beaumarchais.
Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 74.
Diana Karenne and
Marcelle Jefferson-Cohn (a.k.a.
Marcelle Chantal) in
Le Collier de la reine / The Queen's Necklace (Tony Lekain, Gaston Ravel, 1929). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.
Gaumont's collaborative team
Gaston Pierre Achille Ravel was born in 1878 in Paris, France. Ravel began his career as an actor at the turn of the century and turned to silent film on the eve of the First World War. One of his first films was
Sainte-Odile (Gaston Ravel, 1914) with
Musidora and
Gabriel Signoret. He again directed
Musidora in
La petite réfugiée / The Little Refugee (Gaston Ravel, 1914) and
La bouquetière des Catalans (Gaston Ravel, 1914), both with
Claude Mérelle.
He joined the Gaumont filmmaking team after the construction of the Buttes Chaumont studios. This team often worked collaboratively, and
Gaston Ravel co-directed numerous films. He quickly demonstrated his talent for directing. Jacques Feyder was his assistant director on
Des pieds et des mains (1915) and
Monsieur Pinson policier (1916) before directing his first feature,
L'Atlantide.
Shortly after the war, he also filmed in Italy. He directed the divas
Elena Lunda and
Francesca Bertini in
Il Nodo / The Knot (Gaston Ravel, 1921). Back in France, he directed the French serial
Tao' (Gaston Ravel, 1923) starring
Joë Hamman as an Asian villain.
Achille Brunet at
IMDb: "A French serial made in the direct aftermath of
Louis Feuillade's celebrated movies. Just as
Les Vampires or
Tih-Minh, it's action-packed, full of twists, and if not perfect by any means, it ranks easily among the best serials of the time."
He directed the drama
Ferragus (Gaston Ravel, 1923) starring
René Navarre,
Elmire Vautier and
Stewart Rome. It is an adaptation of the 1833 novel of the same title by
Honoré de Balzac. The film's sets were designed by the art director
Tony Lekain, who also played a supporting part in the film. The two continued to work together. Then followed the dramas
L'avocat / The Advocate (Gaston Ravel, 1925), based upon the play by
Eugène Brieux and starring
Rolla Norman,
Mirales and
Sylvio De Pedrelli, and
Jocaste (Gaston Ravel, 1925), based on the novel by
Anatole France and starring
Thomy Bourdelle,
Claude Mérelle and
Sandra Milowanoff.
In 1926,
Gaston Ravel accepted an offer to make three films in Germany. He worked for the small Berlin company Alga-Film with artists such as
Eduard von Winterstein,
Maly Delschaft, and
Erna Morena. The first was the German-French coproduction
Fräulein Josette - Meine Frau / Mademoiselle Josette ma femme / Mademoiselle Josette, My Woman (Gaston Ravel, 1926) starring
Dolly Davis,
Livio Pavanelli and
Ágnes Eszterházy. It was shot at the Staaken Studios in Berlin and on location in Nice and at Lake Geneva. The film's sets were designed by the art directors
Tony Lekain and
Hermann Warm.
Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana / Medusa Film.
Carlo Gualandri (left) in the Italian period piece
Saracinesca (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on the novel by
Frances Marion Crawford. Caption: The day he hears that the young Prince Saracinesca wants to marry Donna Tullia Mayer, the cardinal doesn't hide his disapproval.
Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinemagrafica Italiana / Medusa Film.
Carlo Gualandri (here on the right) in the Italian period piece
Saracinesca (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on the novel by
Frances Marion Crawford. Caption: Before the duel, Saracinesca gives his last will to his notary.
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, unnumbered.
Maria Carmi as Isabella Inghirami in the Italian silent film
Forse che sí, forse che no (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on
Gabriele d'Annunzio's eponymous novel (1910).
Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna, no. 2008.
Maria Carmi and
Ettore Piergiovanni in
Forse che sì forse che no (Gaston Ravel, 1921), an adaptation of the novel by
Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, unnumbered. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana.
Maria Carmi and
Ettore Piergiovanni as Isabella Inghirami and Paolo Tarsis in the Italian silent film
Forse che sí, forse che no (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on
Gabriele d'Annunzio's eponymous novel (1910). The maddened Isabella does not understand Paolo's pleas anymore.
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Medusa Film / UCI.
Helena/ Elena Makowska and possibly
Guido Trento in the Italian silent film
Rabagas (Gaston Ravel, 1922), based on a play by
Victorien Sardou.
Italian postcard. Photo: Medusa Film / UCI.
Dolly Morgan,
Helena/ Elena Makowska and
Guido Trento in the Italian silent film
Idillio tragico (Gaston Ravel, 1922), based on a novel by
Paul Bourget. Caption: Start of the idyll between Ely and Oliviero.
Italian postcard. Photo: Medusa Film / Unione Cinematografica Italiana.
Guido Trento (right) in the Italian silent film
Idillio tragico (Gaston Ravel, 1922), based on a novel by
Paul Bourget. Caption: Pietro finds the dying Oliviero.
Co-directing with Tony Lekain
Back in France,
Gaston Ravel co-directed with
Tony Lekain the historical film
Madame Récamier (1928) starring
Marie Bell,
Françoise Rosay, and
Edmond Van Daële. The film portrays the life of Juliette Récamier, a French society figure of the Napoleonic Era.
In his later years, Gaston Ravel directed several sound films, often in collaboration with co-director
Tony Lekain. The first was the synchronised sound French historical drama
Le Collier de la reine / The Queen's Necklace (1929) starring
Marcelle Chantal,
Georges Lannes and
Diana Karenne. While the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronised musical score with sound effects. The film is an adaptation of
Alexandre Dumas's novel 'The Queen's Necklace', which portrays 'the Affair of the Diamond Necklace', which occurred before the French Revolution. Like many films from the early sound era, the film was shot as a silent film and then was synchronised with a musical score and sound effects soundtrack.
That same year, Lekain and Ravel made the historical comedy
Figaro (1929) starring
Ernst Van Duren,
Arlette Marchal and
Marie Bell. It is an adaptation of the 1778
Pierre Beaumarchais play 'The Marriage of Figaro', with material also used from its two sequels. It was released in 1929 in the US as a silent film, then reissued there in 1932 with an added music track, under the title
Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
In the French historical drama
Fanatisme (Gaston Ravel, Tony Lekain, 1934), he directed Hollywood diva
Pola Negri, who was visiting Paris. That same year, he and Lekain made
Le rosaire / The Rosary (Tony Lekain, Gaston Ravel, 1934) starring
Louisa de Mornand,
André Luguet and
Hélène Robert. It is based on the 1909 novel 'The Rosary' by British writer
Florence L. Barclay and its stage adaptation by
Alexandre Bisson.
These were his final films.
Gaston Ravel died in 1958 in Cannes, France. He was 79.
French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 81. Photo: Franco-Film.
Marie Bell de la Comédie-Française in
Madame Récamier (Gaston Ravel, Tony Lekain, 1928).
French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 95.
François Rozet as the Prince of Prussia in
Madame Récamier (Tony Lekain, Gaston Ravel, 1928).
French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 303.
Marie Bell, sociétaire of the Comédie Française, as Suzanne in the French silent film
Figaro (Gaston Ravel, 1929), based on the play by
Pierre Beaumarchais.
French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 307. Photo: Roger Forster.
Ernst/ Edmond Van Duren,
Arlette Marchal and
Marie Bell in the French silent film
Figaro (Gaston Ravel, 1929), based on the play by
Pierre Beaumarchais.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 441. Photo: Engberg.
Jean Weber as the Chevalier Marc Rétaux de Villette in
Le Collier de la reine (Gaston Ravel, Tony Lekain, 1929).
French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 722.
Marcelle Chantal, aka
Marcelle Jefferson-Cohn in
Le Collier de la reine / The Queen's Necklace (Gaston Ravel, Tony Lekain, 1929), which was inspired by
Alexandre Dumas's tale.
Spanish illustration by Films selectos, Supplemento Artistico. Photo: Films Artistica Barcelonesa.
Diana Karenne in
Le Collier de la reine / The Queen's Necklace (Tony Lekain, Gaston Ravel, 1929).
Picture from the Spanish magazine Films selectos, Supplemento Artistico. Photo: Films Artistica Barcelonesa. Photo:
Diana Karenne in
Le Collier de la reine / The Queen's Necklace (Tony Lekain, Gaston Ravel, 1929).
Sources: Wikipedia (
English,
French and
German) and
IMDb.