Saturday, July 06, 2013

Le Suicide de Bébé

[BONUS MOVIE originally belonging to A Hundred Years Ago Programme 4 screened on 2 July 2013.]

Bebe's Ruse. FR 1913. D: Louis Feuillade. C: Clément Mary, Renée Carl, Paul Manson. P: Gaumont. 35 mm. 147 m. 7' a 18 f/s. B&w. English or French intertitles? [French intertitles were announced.]. CNC - Archives Françaises du Film. Sala Mastroianni (Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna), grand piano: Donald Sosin, earphone translation in Italian, 6 July 2013

Bébé learns about his parents' divorce plans, his mother declaring that she is about to go back to her mother. Bébé finds a revolver and points it to his mouth - head - heart... He writes a suicide letter about "quitter l'existence". After his fake suicide there is a reconciliation of the parents. "Now I can live". The print has been restored from a 28 mm Pathé KOK source.

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