The Little Match Girl (1928)
"La petite marchande d'allumettes" (original title)

Directors:

Jean Renoir, Jean Tédesco

Writers:

Hans Christian Andersen (story), Jean Renoir

Stars:

Catherine Hessling, Eric Barclay, Jean Storm

Cast

Cast overview:
Catherine Hessling	...	Karen
Eric Barclay
Jean Storm	...	Axel Ott
Manuel Raaby
Amy Wells

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

weather | based on folk tale | foreign language adaptation | matchbox | new year's eve | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 June 1928 (France)

Also Known As:

Das kleine Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

40 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lucia Joyce, daughter of James Joyce, dances a small duet as a toy soldier in this film. She had studied under Isadora Duncan's eccentric brother Raymond.

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Connections

Version of The Little Match Girl (1937)

User Reviews

Moving and dreamlike

I just stumbled on this early and silent Renoir short (along with the delightfully bizarre 'Sur un air de Charleston') on a DVD of 'La Grand Illusion' and, really, I think I love it more even than that great film.

It's loosely based on 'The Little Match Girl' but owes as much to 'The Nutcracker'; a poor match-seller (played by Mrs. Renoir, the absolutely gorgeous and appealing Catherine Hessling, who can also be seen in 'Charleston'), overcome with hunger and cold, hallucinates the inhabitants of a toyshop window coming to life around her. I imagine the animation and other special effects must have been fairly pioneering - I'm certain they're more spellbinding than anything CGI could do - and the result is magical, enchanting, heartbreaking.

The version I saw had a haunting, note-perfect accordion soundtrack by Marc Perrone.

Much as I love his other work I could almost wish Renoir had gone on like this; I could wish cinema had gone on like this.