Lili Damita and Georges Melchior |
Bela Lugosi was replaced by director Ed Wood's chiropractor on his last film Plan 9 from Outer Space when he died.
Sarah in Mothers Of France |
La voyante (The Fortune Teller) would be written by her friend Sacha Guitry (who would also appear in the film) and she insisted it would have to be filmed inside her own apartment, boulevard Pereire, in Paris France. She was then 78 years old and had lost a leg since 1915. She had to act lying or sitting down.
Notice Charlot I, the monkey, also seen in Vidocq. |
A new production company "Films Abdoré", was created especially for this film by A. Dornès. American director Leon Abrams would direct the film (some modern sources claim he was helped by Louis Mercanton, French friend of Sarah's but I could find no contemporary record of that and an article by Mercanton written right after her death does not mention his involvement in the film).
Sarah puts on sunglasses between takes to protect her eyes from the strong light projectors |
Mary Marquet & Harry Baur |
Except the film. Unfortunately on March 26, Sarah, who was so famous for her death scenes, actually died of a kidney failure after two days of agony and production stopped before her scenes could be completed. She was given a grandiose funeral at the Madeleine church as she had requested. Her 1915 film, Jeanne Doré, which had never seen a proper release in France until then, was presented April 6, 1923 as "her last film" which was obviously a double lie: she had starred in Mothers of France after that, and the fate of La voyante was still unsettled.
The May 24, 1923 edition of Mon Ciné magazine announces that the owners of the main theaters of Paris attended a screening of the unfinished film at the Artistic Cinema theater, rue de Douai, and it was decided then that the film could be completed using a body double (actress Jeanne Brindeau is announced as "Jane Brindeau" in the June 7 edition of that same magazine) and by using outtakes of Sarah.
Actress Pâquerette, who plays the plump kind-hearted janitor in the film, gave an informative interview to Mon Ciné magazine published July 5, 1923 where she reveals that the actors had to share the screen with a monkey and an elephant. She also mentions someone named Baudet among the cast (listed as "Mr. Baudry" in another article). She remembers coming to Sarah Bernhardt's apartment with two trucks parked outside for electricity, and that the great actress recognized her instantly: they had met once before on a voyage back from the USA 25 years before that. Apparently, she was so vivacious that her on-set nurses had to order her to be silent so she would not tire too much. Yet her eyes who fascinated the director were those of a 20 year-old.
Pierrot the clown is played by a very special personality of the circus world: François Fratellini of the famous Fratellini family, still active today. The man appeared later in Dream of Clowns (Rêve de clowns) along with his two brothers and Georges Melchior. That film was actually released on the very same day as La voyante because of the delay caused by Sarah's death.
Admirers stand in line to pay their last homage in front of Sarah's home (on the left) |
Lily Damita, Jean-François Martial and Georges Melchior |
Jean-François Martial |
Nowadays, the film has vanished from public sight. It may be sleeping in the vault of a Cinematheque or may be lost forever. Let me know if you have some information. Even her apartment has now disappeared, replaced by a rather ugly modern building where a plaque commemorates her.
Yet to this day, the actress remains proverbially famous and if you ever visit Paris' Grévin wax museum, the first statue that will welcome you in the hall is that of Sarah Bernhardt. Who knows? In accordance to Sarah's motto, the film may yet turn up "quand même" ("Nevertheless").
Modern pictures courtesy of Garry.
Please click "like" on the Facebook page for more!
That's all for today folks!
Thanks for the tip! It has been rather difficult to find information about this film so any new source is great.
ReplyDeleteRecently came across your post on La Voyante and just tweeted a studio image with Lily damita and director Leon Abrams. If you can id any of the other cast and crew, please let us know.
ReplyDeleteGreat find! I'm afraid I don't recognize the other actors: there's no elderly man among the principals as even Harry Baur looked much younger then so this would have to be a minor role. Without a print turning up some day, I'm afraid there's little chance to identify them.
DeleteThe bed in the office and the strange looking easel could indicate that we are in the artist's room but it doesn't look like the picture I found, he is not in the scene and the rest of the decoration seems too wealthy for him. It isn't Sarah's apartment either.
Great atmosphere though. Thanks for sharing!