Judex (1916 film)

Background

Louis Feuillade had made two earlier serials, Fantômas (1913) and Les Vampires (1915–1916), about cunning criminals. Though popular with audiences, the serials drew criticism for glorifying outlaws. Feuillade opted for a lighter approach for his next film series, celebrating the adventures of a vigilante. Judex, by contrast, was a heroic persona, but one who had all of the sinister trappings of the flamboyant villains who were popular at the time. Announcing the series, Feuillade assured the public, that Judex was "A film… which we have wished to be popular in the largest and the most wholesome sense of the word, a family spectacle inciting the most noble sentiments in which we have made every effort to please Children and Adults, thanks to a plot with the most diverse and unforeseen intricacies", and "a popular and wholesome family spectacle as well as a spectacle of emotions, joy and art that wished to offer a truthful story, full of adventure, love, laughter, and tears."^[7][8][9] However, the BFI observes that "Although keen to provide escapist entertainment and avoid re-offending the authorities, Feuillade nevertheless blurred the moral lines around Judex's vigilantism, while also relishing the seductive wickedness of Musidora's larcenous adventuress, Diana Monti."^[10]

In collaboration with the novelist Arthur Bernède, Feuillade developed a film project, accompanied by a 12-part cinematographic novel, which would be simultaneously serialised in newspapers and film, with story revisions by Feuillade.^[11] This would maximise the serial's profitability,^[5] particularly by taking advantage of the advertisements accompanying the serialised novel following the 1916 paper crisis, which considerably reduced the print run of advertising brochures.^[12]

Development

Arthur Bernède explained the close collaboration he had with Feuillade, who was in charge of the cinematographic aspects, in the creation of Judex. He said that they worked in perfect harmony, according to a pre-established plan, from which neither deviated for a single moment: "In this pooling of ideas and efforts, we sought to create a picturesque, entertaining work, dramatic enough to captivate everyone's attention, but above all respectful of public morality."^[13]

While working on Judex, Bernède developed a writing method that he retained for all his novel-film productions: he constructed a screenplay that served both as the basis for writing a novel and for the serial's storyboard.^[14] Then, after submitting a twelve-page screenplay to Feuillade,^[15] Bernède participated in the series's storyboarding and continued his collaboration during filming.^[14]

Character Influences

For their creation of Judex, Feuillade and Bernède drew upon a wealth of literary references. Thus, Judex shares many similarities with Fantômas such as his penchant for disguises and his forceful methods, except that Judex fights for justice. Moreover, as a further parallel, Feuillade suggested René Navarre, who played Fantômas in the eponymous 1913 serial, but he ultimately declined.^[5]

Furthermore, Judex also shares commonalities with the Count of Monte Cristo: the hero's relentless pursuit of Favraux stems from the banker's past ruin of his family; and after placing him in a state of artificial death, he secretly imprisons him in his base. As in Alexandre Dumas's work, the story clearly falls within the realm of family revenge.^[5]

Finally, Judex is reminiscent of the character Ténébras from Arnould Galopin's novel Ténébras, le bandit fantôme (Ténébras, the Phantom Bandit): Judex's revenge brings about the financial ruin of the banker Favraux's daughter, Jacqueline, but after falling in love with her, he decides to protect the young woman from any danger she might encounter. This romance strongly evokes the one Ténébras has with the woman with whom he falls in love.^[16]

Casting

Judex was played by French matinee idol René Cresté. After her success as Irma Vep in Les Vampires, Musidora was once again chosen for the role of the wicked governess and adventuress Diana Monti. Feuillade also brought back Marcel Lévesque, who had played Mazamette in Les Vampires, for the role of the detective Cocantin.

Delay

Due to the First World War, the serial's release in France was delayed, as Gaumont Studios feared sparking controversy and undermining the morale of the French population. Consequently, both the serial and the novel remained shelved for several months. Ultimately, a competing film series produced by Pathé prompted its release. Directed by the Franco-American duo Louis J. Gasnier and Donald MacKenzie, The Shielding Shadow, released in France as Ravengar and also featuring a vigilante, was released in the United States in 1916. It is likely that Gaumont, fearing that Gasnier and McKenzie's serial would be released in France before Feuillade's, decided to release Judex at the beginning of 1917.^[16][17]

Premiere

An avant-première was held on 16 December 1916 in the Gaumont-Palace, when the first four episodes were shown.^[1] It is unclear whether the premiere was an invitation-only gala screening, a press screening for critics and industry figures, or a first presentation before the serial entered regular distribution.

General release

The first text episode of Judex was published in the 12 January 1917 issue of Le Petit Parisien, a week before the film debut on 19 January.^[18] Each Judex text episode was published before the corresponding film serial episode, which built up anticipation. The text episodes ran from 12 January to 6 April, and the film episodes ran from 19 January to 7 April.^[11]

The international release of the serial was delayed until late 1917 in Europe. A North American release did not occur until the Canadian Film Institute's National Film Theatre arranged a screening in February 1965.^[19]

The serial was a commercial success upon its release, and Feuillade directed a sequel serial the following year, titled La Nouvelle Mission de Judex (lit. The New Mission of Judex, also known in English as The Further Exploits of Judex).^[20] The sequel serial ran in Le Petit Parisien from 11 January to 4 April 1918, and the film episodes ran from 25 January to 15 April 1918^[11]

As a model for the episodic film

Louis Feuillade's serial inspired many directors of the 1910s and 1920s in their use of episodic film series. Not only did the twelve-episode format, unique to Judex, become the standard,^[22] but also its narrative structure served as a model: a series of episodes of similar length (approximately 600 metres), with the exception of the first (approximately 1,200 metres), which also includes a prologue introducing the characters.^[23]

Feuillade's Judex inaugurated a line of episodic films constructed on the same model: Mascamor (1918) by Pierre Marodon [fr], Les Mystères de Paris (1922) by Charles Burguet, and others.

The Judex character

The vigilante characters of Judex and Ravengar very likely contributed to inspiring The Shadow, a pulp character first appearing in 1930, who wears a costume similar to Judex's and possesses Ravengar's power of invisibility. Furthermore, the first Judex story was titled The Mysterious Shadow in the United States, while the character of Ravengar appeared in the serial The Shielding Shadow. In the 1940s, comic strips of The Shadow, a character then unknown to French readers, were published in France in a translation that transformed them into Judex adventures.

An immediate precursor to superheroes, The Shadow is in turn one of Batman's inspirations. Thus, for the comic book expert Xavier Fournier, Judex is "in a way, the grandfather of the famous Dark Knight".^[24]