Les vampires (1915)

An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.

Director:

Louis Feuillade

Writer:

Louis Feuillade

Stars:

Musidora, Édouard Mathé, Marcel Lévesque

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Musidora	...	Irma Vep
Édouard Mathé	...	Philippe Guérande
Marcel Lévesque	...	Oscar Mazamette
Jean Aymé	...	Le Grand Vampire
Fernand Herrmann	...	Juan-José Moréno / Brichonnet
Stacia Napierkowska	...	Marfa Koutiloff (episode II)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Renée Carl	...	L'Andalouse
Suzanne Delvé	...	Fleur-de-Lys
Georgette Faraboni	...	Danseuse vampire
Jacques Feyder	...	(episode V: L'évasion du mort)
Fridolin
Rita Herlor	...	Mrs. Simpson (episode I)
Émile Keppens	...	Géo Baldwin
Louise Lagrange	...	Jeanne Guérande
Suzanne Le Bret	...	Hortense - servante d'Irma

Storyline

An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.

---

Plot Keywords:

serial | silent film | entering through a chimney | person in a trunk | vampire | 

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

---

Goofs

in episode 8 Mazamette is barely able to lift the hatbox with the artillery shell. When Satanas' assistant loads it into the cannon later, his handling shows that it actually weighs very little.

---

Quotes

Satanas: [intertitle] The man you killed was a subordinate. I, Satanas, am the Grand Vampire.

---

Connections

Featured in Irma Vep (1996)

User Reviews

one great leap for the movies

A ten-part serial that took eight hours to watch with breaks, this thing defies not just summary but reliable recall: describing it is like trying to describe a year in my life. Chaotic, unpredictable, upside down, with endless sneaky tricks that defy our conception of 'movie' magic because they mainly involve Cirque-type human machines doing things that couldn't have been faked so convincingly at this date. I mean, you can see the splice whenever a character turns on the light, so when the bitchy criminal mastermind Irma Vep gets wrapped up in rope, then rolls down the side of a four-story building like a human yo-yo, you know you're watching history in the making. What's more, and redemptively, the stupid detectives are REALLY stupid, including this outrageous Italian stereotype who keeps nyuk-ing straight into the camera. There's a wild chase-fight scene on a moving train, a gas attack on a large high-society do, a kid accidentally shooting his father in the nose, and God knows what else. This dumbfoundingly imaginative, yet consistently goofy and crowd-pleasing movie could only have happened in a medium whose limits had not yet been properly defined - in fact you can see the definition happening on screen. When I grow up I want to be Henri Langlois, founder of the Cinematheque Francais, who rescued the world's only print of this film from the curb on garbage day. Hooray!

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont [France]

Country:

France

Language:

None French

Release Date:

23 November 1916 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Vampires

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

421 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1