Le Capitaine Fracasse (1929)
Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Henry Wulschleger

Film Review

This first full-length film adaptation of Théophile Gautier's celebrated 1863 novel Le Capitaine Fracasse has only recently been recovered and restored but it immediately impresses as one of the jewels in the crown of French silent cinema. This was one of the earliest films to be directed by the Brazilian born director Alberto Cavalcanti, who perhaps deserves far greater recognition as an innovator and film auteur than he presently enjoys. Cavalcanti is best remembered today for the films he made in Britain at Ealing Film Studios in the 1940s, notably Went the Day Well? (1942) and Dead of Night (1945). However, his earlier work shows more flair and creativity, particularly the films he made in France in the 1920s, including his debut piece, the influential urban documentary Rien que les heures (1926).

Making a film adaptation of such a well-known novel, with its plethora of action scenes alternating with moments of poignant reflection, must have been an ambitious undertaking, but Cavalcanti manages to pull it off with consummate skill and panache.  He is served by some sublime acting talent, which includes Pierre Blanchar and Charles Boyer, who would become major film stars in the following decades.

Cavalcanti directs the film with flair, showing the visual artistry and depth of feeling that would contribute to the longevity of many of his subsequent films. The use of colour tinting to distinguish interior scenes from exterior scenes is a little off-putting at first but seems to work well to create contrasting moods.

One major, major fault with the newly restored version of the film is the addition of a soundtrack composed by Michel Portal.  The music, a discordant synthesis of what sounds like aboriginal chant and barrel organ piping, is completely unsynchronised with the film's action.  It is simply an appalling distraction from the film, one which effectively ruins the spectator's enjoyment of the film.  This is criminal artistic vandalism of the worst kind. One's appreciation of this lost classic is vastly increased by muting the sound and watching it as a genuinely silent film.

It is interesting to compare this version of Le Capitaine Fracasse with two later versions, one made by Abel Gance in 1943, and a lush colour version by Pierre Gaspard-Huit in 1960. Both of these later films have much to endear themselves to a mainstream cinema (Gaspard-Huit's version has more in the way of spectacle and humour), but Cavalcanti's film has the edge with its sheer visual eloquence.

Film Synopsis

Sigognac, a penniless young aristocrat, lives alone in his ruined castle.  One day, a troupe of travelling actors arrive at his door and ask for shelter for the night.  Glad of the company, Sigognac invites them in, and forms an instant bond of friendship with them.  He falls in love with the young ingenue, Isabelle, but a sense of duty to his ancestors prevents him from accepting an offer to travel with them to Paris.  Later, he changes his mind, and he hastens after his new friends.  When one of the actors dies, Sigognac takes his place, and becomes the Captain Fracasse...