At the 2018 Autumn Collector's Fair in Utrecht, we found an album with over 100 vintage cards by Pathé Cinema with stills of films from 1911. The album contains 60 double pages with 120 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. Most cards are made for French films by Pathé, sometimes for its subsidiaries Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL) or Séries d'Art Pathé Frères (SAPF). Occasionally, cards were also published for films by their foreign studios, such as American Kinema, Le Film Russe, and Film d'Arte Italiana (FAI). The series ranges from modern and historical dramas - quite a few deal with Napoleon and his circle in particular - to comedy, fairy tales, and crime films, sometimes with famous dramatic actors such as Stacia Napierkowska, Léontine Massart and Jean Kemm, or comedians such as Max Linder, Prince, Sarah Duhamel, Mistinguett and Madeleine Guitty. For certain titles - in particular for dramas, two or more cards have been issued and are now in the album. Often, with the non-comical films, a name is given which is mostly not the director but the scriptwriter. For an earlier post, we selected 14 cards from this album. Here are 21 more Pathé cards from 1911.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Léontine Massart in
La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with
Jacques Normand as the Count de Chalais,
Auguste Volny as Richelieu,
Philippe Damorès as the Count de Chateauneuf,
Jeanne Berangère as the Queen, and
Armand Hauterive as Louvigny.
The drama
La rivale de Richelieu recounts the tragic struggle that took place under Louis XIII between Cardinal Richelieu, the famous prelate and prime minister of the seventeenth century, and Marie de Rohan, the beautiful Duchess of Chevreuse. The duchess's hatred arose following the arrest of the Count of Chateauneuf, with whom she was in love. Denounced by Louvigny, who was also seeking the duchess's favours, Chateauneuf was arrested following a duel. He obtained his pardon thanks to the Duchess's intervention with the Queen. But the Queen, in exchange for the service rendered, entrusted Marie de Rohan's protégé with a perilous mission: to deliver a secret message to the Duke of Buckingham. The secret was revealed to Father Joseph, the éminence grise of Richelieu. Chateauneuf, arrested again and subjected to torture, prefers to die rather than betray his queen. The duchess, mad with despair, asks the Count of Chalais, who loves her, to avenge Chateauneuf. She promises to marry him if he accomplishes the death of the Cardinal. The jealous Count de Louvigny discovers the conspiracy and denounces the count to Richelieu. Chalais is arrested and sentenced to death. After his execution, which she has just witnessed, the duchess, overcome with hatred and grief, seizes Louvigny's sword and plunges it into his heart. Then she buries the dirk in her own heart. The colouring of this film and the skill with which it is acted make
La rivale de Richelieu an absorbing and powerful drama.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Léontine Massart in
La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with
Jacques Normand,
Auguste Volny and
Armand Hauterive.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Léontine Massart in
La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with
Jacques Normand,
Auguste Volny and
Armand Hauterive.
French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Film d'arte italiana.
Alfredo Robert as Tarquinius and
Fanny Liona as his sister-in-law and mistress Tullia in the Italian film
Tarquin le Superbe / Tarquinio il superbo (N.N., 1911).
In the Film d'arte Italiana drama
Tarquin le Superbe / Tarquinio il superbo, Tarquinius, pushed by his sister-in-law Tullia, vies for the crown of his stepfather, Servius Tullius. After having killed his own wife because of his affair with his sister-in-law, Tarquinius instigates the mob to kill his stepfather, too. Tullia rejoices that her father has been killed and visits Tarquinius to receive the award for her complicity. There really was a King Tarquinius who killed his predecessor and was notorious for his violence, as he also killed many senators who had supported Servius Tullius. Yet, when in later years his son raped the noble Lucretia, who then committed suicide, the whole royal family was kicked out, and Rome became a republic, while the son eventually was assassinated. Pathé Frères was the distributor of this historical drama in France.
French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Film d'arte italiana.
Vittoria Lepanto in
Marozia (Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1910). The wedding of Marozia, with her, left the moustached Hugh, King of Italy (unknown actor). The two young men on the right could be Marozia's two sons,
Stanislas Ciarli as (Pope) John and
Francesco Di Gennaro as Alberico.
Marozia (1910) tells about a Tuscan princess, Marozia, who lived in Rome in the 10th century. She is the daughter of Princess Theodora, and like her mother, she holds the Holy See under her control. She has her son Giovanni/John (possibly a son of Pope Sergius III) appointed in place of Albérico (Alberic), her eldest son, whom she hates. The new Pontiff, John XI, celebrates his mother's marriage to Hugh of Provence, King of Italy. A young captain of the people, Jacopo, who is in love with Princess Marozia and driven by jealousy, leads a conspiracy against King Hugh with the complicity of Albérico. Marozia discovers their plot and warns King Hugh, who expels his wife's eldest son from his palace. The latter, distraught by the insult, hastens his revenge, stirs up the Roman people and has his mother and brother imprisoned in the fortress of Saint Angelo. In reality, during the historical uprising by Alberico, right during the wedding festivities of his mother, Hugh managed to flee, but Marozia was imprisoned and died five years later. John was kept as a puppet at the Lateran palace, while Alberico was de facto in power.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Berthe Bovy in
Le Duc de Reichstadt - Napoléon II (1811-1832) (Georges Denola, 1911). It is unknown who the other actors are.
The moment on this card of
Le Duc de Reichstadt - Napoléon II (1811-1832) (1911) was also a key moment in the stage play 'L'Aiglon (1900) by
Edmond Rostand, in which
Sarah Bernhardt played Napoleon II. Hailed at birth not only by the French people but also by Europe, which believed he was a guarantee of peace, Napoleon II seemed destined for the highest of destinies. However, he would add yet another name to the list of children born into sorrow on the steps of a throne. An involuntary guest of Austria after the exile and death of Napoleon I, the King of Rome, frail and sickly, wasted away in Schönbrunn, reminiscing about his father's glories. An old grenadier of Napoleon's, Sergeant Roger, hatched a plot to restore his father's throne, which the young prince overheard in a Viennese inn. Hope is reborn in his heart, and a brief romance with the sergeant's daughter (Bovy) brightens his final days. Defeated by illness, the King of Rome succumbs just as his dreams are about to come true and bids a final farewell to the brave hearts who devoted themselves to his cause.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Berthe Bovy in
Le Duc de Reichstadt - Napoléon II (1811-1832) (Georges Denola, 1911).
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Gustave Hamilton as the piper Fafarifla and
Berthe Bovy as Florine in the fairytale
Fafarifla ou le fifre magique (Gaston Velle, 1911). Velle also scripted the film.
In the fairytale
Fafarifla ou le fifre magique (Gaston Velle, 1911), Princess Florine loves the fife player Fafarifla, but King Castafiol wants her to marry a prince of royal blood. Fortunately for poor Florine, the chamberlain Mouskador takes pity on her and arranges a meeting with Fafarifla. Castafiol, informed of their recklessness, vows to punish the guilty parties. But the fairy Melusine protects them, and when the king tries to get dressed, his slippers start dancing so wildly that he is forced to stay put. However, he does not give up on his revenge, and the princess becomes a prisoner in his castle. The good fairy, to soften her captivity, turns her beloved Fafarifla into a bird so that she can keep him with her day and night. Unfortunately, the king, surprised by Florine's resignation and suspecting the truth, wants to kill the enchanted bird. He is immediately punished for his wickedness by the fairy, who imprisons him behind solid iron bars. Castafiol then agrees, in exchange for his freedom, to unite the two lovers.
French photo card by Pathé Frères. Scene from
Le Roman de Catherine (N.N., 1911).
In
Le Roman de Catherine(1911), a young peasant, Colas, loves the charming Catherine. But Colas is poor and cannot win her hand. Desperate, he enlists in the army. He is sent to Tours, where he takes a liking to his new life. Soon, he forgets his love, and the unfaithful soldier, won over by new loves, writes to Catherine to ask her to release him. After a bout of heartbreak, the young girl decides to go and join her fiancé to try to win him back. But when she sees that she has been supplanted, her despair bursts forth. Colas, moved, overcome by his former love, dries her tears with kisses, and the two lovers exchange new vows.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Maria Fromet as Pierrot and
Carina as the little sweep in
Oiseau de printemps, hirondelle d'hiver (Georges Denola, 1911). Scripted by
E. M. Laumann. Not visible on this card are Pierrot's parents, who were played by
Georges Dorival and
Darmody.
Auguste Mévisto played the little sweep's master.
In
Oiseau de printemps, hirondelle d'hiver (Georges Denola, 1911), little chimney sweeps fill, as sad winter swallows, the streets of Paris with their cries, heralding the arrival of frost. When Pierrot wakes up, he finds a little chimney sweep in his room and, full of joy, starts playing with his unexpected friend. His mother finds him covered in soot, blacker than his new friend, and after scolding him, sends him back to his studies. The poor chimney sweep, back in his hovel, mistreated by his master, remembers the happy hour he spent in Pierrot's house. While his master is sleeping off his wine, he takes to his heels and goes to join his new friend. Meanwhile, instead of learning his lessons, Pierrot wants to play chimney sweep and pulls the lit stove out of the chimney. The poor little boy, succumbing to asphyxiation, would have perished as a victim of his disobedience, had it not been for the providential intervention of the little chimney sweep, who saw the boy lying on the floor through the window. Little Jean, adopted by Pierrot's family, will finally know happy days.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Georges Vinter as the detective Nick Winter in
Le Pickpocket mystifié (N.N., 1911).
Nick Winter, the astonishing detective, is in
Le Pickpocket mystifié (N.N., 1911) hot on the trail of a clever crook. Winter catches him in a bank where he is robbing a bank clerk's wallet with unparalleled skill and audacity, using a cleverly rigged cane. In an instinctive move, the detective reaches into the thief's pocket, but this gesture makes him look like a thief himself in the eyes of the bank clerk, who calls the police. Nick, handcuffed, is taken to the police station, followed by his thief, who has now become the complainant. But there, the roles are reversed, and the clever policeman has no trouble exposing his adversary.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Blémont as Mme Plumeau in
Le pot de confitures (Georges Denola, 1911). Not visible are M. Plumeau, played by the comedian
Bach and
Madeleine Guitty, who played the aunt.
In
Le pot de confitures (Georges Denola, 1911), Léonce Plumeau receives news at his office that his elderly aunt Ursule is very ill. After expressing his unbridled joy, he writes to his wife to urge her to go immediately to take care of the inheritance and to bring his aunt one of the jars of jam she is making. The aunt welcomes her warmly and shows her the will, which names her as the sole heir. Léontine returns delighted. Immediately after her departure, the aunt, who loves jam, hastens to open the jar and taste its contents, when she notices her nephew's handwriting on the lid. Is it a kind dedication to her? She adjusts her glasses and deciphers a few fragments of sentences: "My dear Léont... I received a telegram... the doctor announces... old spinning top of Aunt Ursule... has decided to pass away... Go there immediately because... to claim her inheritance..." Aunt Ursula, suffocated, has a violent nervous breakdown. A few days later, she dies, leaving her entire fortune to her maid and to her nephew and niece... the jar of jam they so generously gave her.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Max Linder,
Olga Demidoff,
Jacques Vandenne and
Paulette Lorsy in
Max et sa belle-mère (N.N., 1911).
In
Max et sa belle-mère (1911), Max harbours feelings of hostility towards his mother-in-law. When his mother-in-law announces her imminent arrival to her children, Max, furious, enlists the help of the servants to make her stay unbearable. They assist him admirably. Thanks to their zeal, Mother-in-law stumbles from one mishap to another, getting sprayed by the gardener, covered in dust from beaten carpets, and having a bowl of boiling soup dumped on her head; her bed collapses while she is sleeping. Finally, after a series of unspeakable misadventures, the mother-in-law falls into the clutches of Max's best friend, a real bear, and, bewildered, distraught and bruised, she jumps on the first train leaving, vowing never to return.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Charles Prince as Rigadin in
Rigadin a perdu son monocle (Georges Monca, 1911).
In
Rigadin a perdu son monocle (Georges Monca, 1911), Rigadin, afflicted with extreme short-sightedness, has lost his monocle when it slipped into his coffee cup. An errand girl he is trying to win over takes advantage of the situation to tease him mercilessly. Indeed, after making passionate declarations to a mannequin, then to some bathrobes drying on a line, and finally to a driver whom he mistakes for the mischievous girl, Rigadin returns home, duped and unhappy, to find his monocle in his coffee cup.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Wilhem as little Germaine, the daughter and
Georges Tréville as Hugues de Prasdin, her father, in
Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by
Georges Le Faure and
Georges Denola.
Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911) features Hugues de Prasdin, cornered by gambling and unfortunate speculations. He appeals to the generosity of his father-in-law, Darcourt, to pay off an urgent debt. Rejected by him, the desperate bon vivant contemplates suicide. While he is writing to his family to say goodbye and explain the reasons for his decision, his daughter, little Germaine, plays hide-and-seek with her brother. Hiding behind a curtain, she overhears her father's terrible plan. When she is alone, the little girl, trembling, comes out of her hiding place and tries to unload the revolver that her father left on the table before leaving. But it is too difficult for her small fingers to handle; the bullet is fired and wounds her hand. The whole family rushes to the poor girl's side, and she secretly slips the desperate man's letter to her ruthless grandfather. The old man is moved by the child's silent plea, and her father is saved thanks to the happy accident.
French photo card by Pathé Frères.
Wilhem as little Germaine, the daughter, in
Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911).
French photo car by. Pathé Frères.
Wilhem,
Georges Tréville,
Catherine Fonteney as the mother and
Albert Dieudonné as the grandfather in
Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911).
French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL).
Edmond Duquesne as the old bird feeder and accompanist in
Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911). Script by
Georges Le Faure and
Albert Capellani. We have three cards for this film.
In
Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911), Father Darblay is an elderly accompanist who collects the leftovers from diners at the restaurant for his little bird friends. As the good old man feeds them, an unexpected bird joins them. It is a poorly dressed little girl who hungrily devours the sparrows' food. At this sight, the old musician's kind heart is moved. He takes in and adopts the child. In the artistic milieu in which she lives, Ginette's vocation takes shape. Darblay and an established elder dancer discover Ginette's dancing talent. She becomes a professional dancer, and soon, as an upcoming star, she leaves to tour America: the little bird flies out. Months pass, and the poor little girl has become a great artist, applauded and celebrated. The new star is shining brightly in Monte Carlo and is surrounded by persistent admirers when she learns that, in her absence, her adoptive father is consumed with grief. Only her presence can save him. The artist does not hesitate. She takes the first train and finds old Darblay with his sparrows on the bench where he had once rescued her. Now it is the young girl's turn to help the old man. Her care and tenderness soon restore his joy and health.
French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL).
Stacia Napierkowska as Ginette in
Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911). Script by Georges Le Faure. The young man behind the old charmer is
Lucien Callamand.
French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL).
Stacia Napierkowska as Ginette and
Edmond Duquesne as Mr. Darblay in
Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911).
Sources: Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé et IMDb.
Check out the first post on the Pathé album of 1911. Next month, we will post more cards from this album.
