Film Review
Between his two most celebrated films,
La Roue (1923) and
Napoléon
(1927), the avant-garde filmmaker Abel Gance knocked out this amusing
short film, reputedly as a result of a bet with the comic star Max
Linder that he couldn't make a film within three days. This was
to be one of Linder's last films - he committed suicide with his wife
the following year (on 31st October), unable to cope with his violent mood swings.
Au secours! (1924) is an atypical
piece for Linder, more serious that most of his work. In some
scenes, the film is genuinely disturbing, although it does allow the
comic genius plenty of opportunity to display his unrivalled penchant
for unpredictable slapstick.
Whilst the film was obviously made in a hurry, Gance still manages to
impress with his artistic flair and inventiveness, employing some of
his familiar motifs for both dramatic and comedic effect. The
long point-of-view tracking shot which takes us to the haunted castle
has become one of the standard clichés of the horror genre, and
the multiple exposure which Gance employed so successfully on
J'Accuse
(1919) to animate the skeletons of the dead is reused here to create a
similar ghoulish effect. The most sublime visual gag is the one
where Max leaps up onto a chandelier and goes up and down like a yoyo,
compressing and stretching the field of view like a concertina as he
does so. Most of the other gags date back to Georges
Méliès, although Gance and Linder hone them to perfection
- the one where Max knocks the head off a waxwork footman is
horrifically convincing.
Like its comic star,
Au secours!
is a film with a dangerously split personality. In the last few
minutes of the film, it becomes noticeably darker in tone, and Max
looks genuinely terrified as a truly gruesome Neanderthal-like
monstrosity suddenly starts to menace his wife. Of course there's
a final devious twist and it all ends with smiles, but before we get
there Gance and Linder do their damnedest to scare us out of our
wits. Not only is this one of the first comedy-horror films, it
is unquestionably one of the most enjoyable and most visually
interesting. You would expect nothing less from two of the
unrivalled giants of silent cinema.
© James Travers 2012
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Abel Gance film:
Napoléon (1927)
Film Synopsis
Max is relaxing on honeymoon with his bride Renée when he
suddenly feels inclined to drop in on his club. He arrives at the
club just as the Count de Mornay offers a bet that no one can spend a
night in his haunted castle. Max accepts the wager, which only
requires him to spend one hour in the castle (from 11 pm until
midnight) without calling on his friends for help. But within
minutes of his arrival at the castle, Max is tormented by ghostly
apparitions and menacing monstrosities. Yet he is determined to
win his bet, and even when he knows his life may be in peril he refuses
to call for help. Then, just a few minutes before midnight, he
receives a phone call from his wife. In a panic, she appeals to
him for help, telling him that a grotesque fiend is menacing her in her
bedroom...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.