Gaumont treasures. Volume 2, DVD 2, Jean Durand

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Summary

Short films about animals, the wild west and social classes. "Between the years 1904 and 1914, Jean Durand was considered one of the masters of the form, both for the quality of his films and the w...

Short films about animals, the wild west and social classes.

"Between the years 1904 and 1914, Jean Durand was considered one of the masters of the form, both for the quality of his films and the wider influence he had upon film style. He joined Gaumont in 1911 and there he directed some 168 films, specializing in comedies and adventure dramas (including a number of especially fascinating American-style Westerns, shot on the wetlands of southeastern France). While at Gaumont, Durand assembled a bestiary of supporting players and delighted in introducing elephans, lions, camels, snakes, and dogs into his farces and thrillers. Frequently menaced by the more deadly varieties was Durand's wife and leading lady Berthe Dagmar. Durand also commanded a squadron of acrobatic actors--known simply as Les Pouittes--who specialized in the comic destruction of bourgeois interiors, but who just as effectively served as the cowboys and Indians with which Durand populated his Wild West landscapes."--Container.

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