La Fille du sonneur
R: Albert Capellani. B: André Heuzé. D: Gabriel Moreau, Renée Coge, Ransart. P: Pathé Frères. Fr 1906

“From his very first film on – the memorable Le chemineau of 1905, based on an episode from Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Misérables’ – Albert Capellani transports the contents and qualities of bourgeois culture to the cinema. He films Zola, Hugo and Daudet – his Arlésienne of 1908 has unfortunately been lost [found again and restored 2016! KK]. His many fairy tale films (scène des contes), biblical and historical scenes reveal him as a great art director, who also adopted the latest developments in modern dance and worked with its stars Stacia Napierkowska and Mistinguiette. Highly versatile, he had an unerring sense of the best approach to a given genre.
(…)
Capellani had worked in the theater as a director and actor until Pathé recruited him in 1905. In a sense, he became a specialist in literary adaptations, especially after his appointment in 1908 as artistic director of S.C.A.G.L. Yet the films (…) include pure melodrama (such as Pauvre mère, “Poor mother,” 1906), crime-suspense films (L’Épouvante, “The Terror,” 1911), classic fairy-tales (Cendrillon, 1907), and historical/biblical costume pictures (Samson, 1908).
With his theatrical background, it is not surprising that Capellani was able to cast many old colleagues in his films, notably Henry Krauss, who played Quasimodo in Notre-Dame de Paris (1911) and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (1912). Wherever his actors came from, however, Capellani was a master at directing performances. In many cases the acting makes characters who would seem completely conventional figures in most films of the day into people with whom the audience can empathize.”
Kristin Thompson
David Bordwell’s Observations on Film Art

Capellani in Paris:
The Ciné-Tourist

>>> Capellani: Two Deadly Romances