Herr Sigognac ( Herr Pierre Blanchar ) is a young French nobleman without means ( well, this it is not a tragic fact for this German count who has known such want during his youthful days, his mature days and even his twilight days
); he lives a poor and miserable existence in his Schloss until one night unexpectedly a troupe of strolling players asks for shelter. Herr Sigognac will offer his aristocratic roof to the troupe and will be especially attracted to Isabelle ( Frau Lien Deyers ), a beautiful actress, so the next morning, after a short hesitation, he decides to join the actors and travel to Paris with them, becoming, after a violent incident involving two gypsies, the Captain Fracasse.
"Le Capitaine Fracasse" (1929) is a classic adventure epic directed by Herr Alberto Cavalcanti, a director who will do his most important work in France, the land in which he was educated, although he will direct in a number of other countries during the years. The film was based on a famous novel by the French writer Herr Théophile Gautier that obviously this Herr Von hasn't read it because it was written in French. The story is full of funny, sarcastic and cynical characters inspired by the European comedy theatre of the XVII century.
A very interesting part of the film is its novel subject, the recreation of the lives and work of those strolling players who, for a few coins, performed their comedies in any available place: small towns, populous barns, crowded taverns with audiences of commoners and noblemen alike. The film includes action and adventure involving a wicked enmity between the captain Fracasse and the Duke of Vallombreuse ( Herr Charles Boyer ) who will fight during the whole movie for the love of Frau Isabelle.
The direction is perfect, including elegant camera movements and elaborate adventure sequences with beautiful outdoor scenery. It is a well-done swashbuckler film, archetypical in many moments and indeed very professional but it is a bit too much like other adventure films of those silent days and in some ways does not stand out from them.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must direct a troupe of Teutonic rich heiresses.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com
