Louis Feuillade facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louis Feuillade
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| Born | 19 February 1873 Lunel, French Third Republic
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| Died | 25 February 1925 (aged 52) Nice, France
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| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, film producer, journalist, poet |
| Years active | 1905–1925 |
| Spouse(s) |
Jeanne-Leontine Jaujou
(m. 1895) |
Louis Feuillade (born February 19, 1873 – died February 25, 1925) was a famous French filmmaker. He worked during the silent film era, a time when movies had no sound. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed more than 630 films! He is best known for his exciting crime series like Fantômas, Les Vampires, and Judex. These were made between 1913 and 1916.
Early Life and Start in Movies
Louis Feuillade was born in a town called Lunel in France. His father was a wine merchant. From a young age, Louis loved literature. He wrote many plays and poems. Some of his poems were even printed in local newspapers. He also wrote articles about bullfighting.
When he was twelve, his parents sent him to a Catholic school. Some people think this school influenced the spooky style in his later films. After school, he served in the military from 1891 to 1895. He married Jeanne-Leontine Jaujou in 1895. After his parents passed away, he moved to Paris in 1902. He hoped to become a successful writer.
In 1905, Louis started sending movie scripts to Gaumont. This was a big film studio. The artistic director at Gaumont, Alice Guy-Blaché, liked his scripts. She bought them and asked him to direct them himself. At first, Louis said no because he needed to keep his journalism job. He suggested that Étienne Arnaud direct his early scripts instead.
But by 1906, Louis felt ready to direct his own films. Most of these early films were comedies. In 1907, Alice Guy-Blaché moved to the United States. She suggested that Louis Feuillade become the new Artistic Director of Gaumont. He worked for Gaumont until 1918. During this time, he also made his own films. By the time he died in 1925, he had made about 800 films! Back then, most films were very short, often less than ten minutes long.
Louis Feuillade made all kinds of movies. He made "trick films" like those by Georges Méliès. He also made comedies, dramas, historical films, mysteries, and adventure movies. But he is most famous for his serial films.
Louis Feuillade's daughter married French film director Maurice Champreux. Louis was also the grandfather of French actor and director Jacques Champreux.
Exciting Serial Films
The Fantômas series in 1913 was his first big success. It was a mystery drama with five parts. This series helped create a new style of filmmaking. It mixed exciting stories with a touch of fantasy.
Louis Feuillade is known for creating many exciting techniques used in thrillers. Later directors like Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock used some of his ideas. His serials like Les Vampires (10 episodes) and Judex (12 episodes) were very popular.
Some of His Films
- 1906 The Magnitized Man
- 1907 Tea at the Porter's House (This is the oldest of his films that still exists today.)
- 1908 The Legend of the Spinner (A trick film, like those by Méliès.)
- 1910-13 "Baby" serial: Baby Apache (A series of comedies starring a four-year-old child. There were about 90 short films in this series.)
- 1911-12 Serial Life as it is: The Defect (These were dramas and realistic comedies. There were 14 films in this series.)
- 1913-14 Series of Fantômas (A mystery drama with 5 films.)
- 1913-14 Series of Bout de Zan: Bout de Zan steals an elephant (This series replaced the "Baby" serial. It starred a different child actor and had 62 short films.)
- 1913-14 Series The funny Life: The Jocond (These were comedies with 5 films.)
- 1915 The Vampires (This exciting series had 10 episodes.)
- 1915 Bout de Zan and the Shirker
- 1916 Judex (This popular series had 12 episodes.)
- 1918 Vendemiaire (A drama set during World War I, in 2 parts.)
- 1918 Tih Minh (This series had 12 episodes.)
- 1919 Barrabas (This series had 12 episodes.)
- 1922 Parisette (This series had 12 episodes.)
- 1923 Vindicta (This film had 5 parts.)
See also
In Spanish: Louis Feuillade para niños
- Irma Vep
- Marthe Vinot
- Maurice Vinot
- Georges Denola
- Julien Duvivier
