The Miser (1908 film)

The Miser (French: L'Avare) is a 1908 French short silent film directed by Georges Méliès.

Production

The miser character in the film is probably Harpagon, from Molière's play The Miser.^[1] Méliès appears in the film both as the poor man and as the man who brings the cask back.^[2]

Close viewing of the first scene indicates that it was filmed in Méliès's glass-roofed studio beneath a cloudy sky. When the sun comes out, the shadows it casts are clearly visible for several seconds; then, as tracing-paper panels are put against the glass to diffuse the light, the panel's shadows also become visible.^[2] Some of the film was shot outside, in the garden of Méliès's property in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis.^[1]

Release and survival

The Miser was released by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 1146–1158 in its catalogues, where it is listed as a scène artistique dramatico-comique.^[1] The surviving print is incomplete; another scene is evidenced in a production still, but it is presumed lost.^[2]

References

External links

• The Miser at the Internet Movie Database