Louis Feuillade was arguably the most prolific film director of all time albeit his output was a mixture of Shorts and Serials, nevertheless his total output approached 700 and over fifty of those featured the cheeky chappie Bout-de-Zan who had more scrapes than a butter-dish in Tel Aviv. This time around he stumbles across an elephant in between circuses and claims it as his own. Not a lot happens, they scare a fake blind man and take offer his pitch and just as they are counting the take a rich lady arrives on the scene and invites them to tea at the old château. They accept, natch, and wind up three at table with the elephant displaying his dexterity with a knife and fork. Invaluable as a guide to what was on offer during the First World War.
6 Reviews
As the Title
boblipton11 February 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Louis Feuillade was Gaumont's lead director for a decade or two from about 1907 and he directed many of his pieces with a casual haste that resulted in some fascinating cinematic moments: pulling an exact duplicate of the woman you've just kidnapped out of a trunk, or going to your lawyer by balloon may be offered to the audience as if such are everyday occurrences. What did the audience think? When you're having a good time, you're likely to forgive small random gaffes.
Most of his comedies were short, and contained one or two gags, elaborated by repetition until the film was used up. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but when a film lasts five minutes and there are several more of similar length on the program, you're willing to put up with a dud.
So this simple movie isn't much, but for what it is, it is fine. Bout-de-Zan hooks up with a circus elephant and the elephant becomes the star of the movie. There's an amusing bit in which Bout-de-Zan and the elephant scare off a fake blind man and take over his pitch. The casual acceptance of the situation by passersby and their donations is amusing. Later, we see the elephant eat with a fork. Not much to it, but who doesn't like elephants?
Most of his comedies were short, and contained one or two gags, elaborated by repetition until the film was used up. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but when a film lasts five minutes and there are several more of similar length on the program, you're willing to put up with a dud.
So this simple movie isn't much, but for what it is, it is fine. Bout-de-Zan hooks up with a circus elephant and the elephant becomes the star of the movie. There's an amusing bit in which Bout-de-Zan and the elephant scare off a fake blind man and take over his pitch. The casual acceptance of the situation by passersby and their donations is amusing. Later, we see the elephant eat with a fork. Not much to it, but who doesn't like elephants?
Bout de Zan Steals an Elephant review
JoeytheBrit29 June 2020
An early Bout-de-Zan comedy starring Rene Poyen in which he steals an elephant much to the terror of local residents. Mildly diverting but not particularly funny - although the final shot of the baby elephant sitting at a table for tea with his little companion is a memorable one.
Elephant and castle
dbdumonteil24 December 2008
These "Bout-De -Zan" shorts were movies aimed at the kids market .Feuillade had two whiz kids : René Poyen -Bout-de-Zan- and René Dary (aka Clement Mary)-Bébé-:the latter continued his career as a grown up and he generally portrayed tough guys with a great heart ("Carrefour Des Enfants Perdus" ).Poyen and Dary appeared together in some of the shorts.
"Steals an elephant" is right.A tiny circus is in town and the young brat steals the enormous animal from them.What follows is moderately funny: Bout-De-Zan pretends that his new pet is blind and he begs in the streets.An elegant woman invites both of them and they have lunch in the dining-room (elephant included).
This last part may have inspired Jean De Brunhoff for his hero Babar the little elephant who ,having seen his mother killed by the hunters,finds a home in an old lady's place.
"Steals an elephant" is right.A tiny circus is in town and the young brat steals the enormous animal from them.What follows is moderately funny: Bout-De-Zan pretends that his new pet is blind and he begs in the streets.An elegant woman invites both of them and they have lunch in the dining-room (elephant included).
This last part may have inspired Jean De Brunhoff for his hero Babar the little elephant who ,having seen his mother killed by the hunters,finds a home in an old lady's place.
Bout de Zan does what any normal kid would do.....well, maybe not.
planktonrules3 April 2010
Bout de Zan is a very precocious young man! When the circus comes to town, he does what any kid might do in this situation--he steals the circus' elephant!!! Later, he sits on the curb with the elephant and begs coins off people--with a sign saying 'blind since birth'. I am not sure if this is supposed to mean the kid or the animal! Later, the kid and elephant get in a lot of trouble but are rescued by a rich lady who takes them to live with her (again, that's probably what most people would do in a situation like this). And in the end, they sit around the table and have a nice meal--the kid, the lady AND the elephant!! Overall, this might just rank as the strangest silent I have ever seen.
Seeing a kid stealing an elephant and the elephant being so well-trained that it could do a lot of cool acting floored me. I especially loved seeing them at the table at the end--it was just surreal yet not a cartoon--they really did all this crazy stuff for the film. Very entertaining!
Seeing a kid stealing an elephant and the elephant being so well-trained that it could do a lot of cool acting floored me. I especially loved seeing them at the table at the end--it was just surreal yet not a cartoon--they really did all this crazy stuff for the film. Very entertaining!
Bout de Zan Steals an Elephant
Michael_Elliott10 August 2010
Bout-de-Zan vole un elephant (1913)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A circus is in town so Bout-de-Zan (Rene Poyen) decides to sneak off and see the elephant while everyone else is sleeping. Once there he decides the best thing to do would be to steal it and the two then set off for many misadventures. Apparently Feuillade made nearly fifty of these Bout-de-Zan shorts with each one having the young kid getting into different situations. I must admit that I never really laughed out loud at any point of this film but I still had a pleasant time thanks in large part to the performance by Poyen. I found him to be incredibly charming and full of energy that really jumped off the screen. The elephant too was cute in its own way and it's clear the boy was having a great time with this giant beast. The comedy ranges from them stealing apples to the elephant knocking out a cop but the funniest bit, and the only part I really laughed at, was when the elephant scares off a fake blind man.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A circus is in town so Bout-de-Zan (Rene Poyen) decides to sneak off and see the elephant while everyone else is sleeping. Once there he decides the best thing to do would be to steal it and the two then set off for many misadventures. Apparently Feuillade made nearly fifty of these Bout-de-Zan shorts with each one having the young kid getting into different situations. I must admit that I never really laughed out loud at any point of this film but I still had a pleasant time thanks in large part to the performance by Poyen. I found him to be incredibly charming and full of energy that really jumped off the screen. The elephant too was cute in its own way and it's clear the boy was having a great time with this giant beast. The comedy ranges from them stealing apples to the elephant knocking out a cop but the funniest bit, and the only part I really laughed at, was when the elephant scares off a fake blind man.
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