The Miser (1908 film)
| The Miser | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
| Starring | Georges Méliès |
Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | France |
| Language | Silent |
The Miser (French: L'Avare) is a 1908 French short silent film directed by Georges Méliès.
Production
The miser character in the film is probably Harpagon, from Molière's play The Miser.[1] Méliès appears in the film both as the poor man and as the man who brings the cask back.[2]
Close viewing of the first scene indicates that it was filmed in Méliès's glass-roofed studio beneath a cloudy sky. When the sun comes out, the shadows it casts are clearly visible for several seconds; then, as tracing-paper panels are put against the glass to diffuse the light, the panel's shadows also become visible.[2] Some of the film was shot outside, in the garden of Méliès's property in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis.[1]
Release and survival
The Miser was released by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 1146–1158 in its catalogues, where it is listed as a scène artistique dramatico-comique.[1] The surviving print is incomplete; another scene is evidenced in a production still, but it is presumed lost.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Malthête, Jacques; Mannoni, Laurent (2008), L'oeuvre de Georges Méliès, Paris: Éditions de La Martinière, p. 236, ISBN 9782732437323
- 1 2 3 Essai de reconstitution du catalogue français de la Star-Film; suivi d'une analyse catalographique des films de Georges Méliès recensés en France, Bois d'Arcy: Service des archives du film du Centre national de la cinématographie, 1981, pp. 305–6, ISBN 2903053073, OCLC 10506429