An impoverished girl tries to sell matches on NYE. Shivering with cold and unable to sell her wares, she sits in a sheltered nook. Striking a match to keep warm, she sees things in the flame.
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Title: The Little Match Girl (1928)
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Cast
| Credited cast: | |||
| Catherine Hessling | ... | Karen | |
| Eric Barclay | |||
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Jean Storm | ... | Axel Ott / soldat en bois |
| Manuel Raaby | |||
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Amy Wells | ||
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Guy Ferrant | ||
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Mme. Heuschling | ... | Une passante |
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Comtesse Tolstoi | ... | La dame au chien |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
An impoverished girl tries to sell matches on NYE. Shivering with cold and unable to sell her wares, she sits in a sheltered nook. Striking a match to keep warm, she sees things in the flame.
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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. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Details
Country:
FranceRelease Date:
8 June 1928 (France) See more »Also Known As:
Das kleine Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern See more »Company Credits
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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.