''Les Misérables'' is a 1909 American silent

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

proto-

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

(four

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s that can be seen separately as a series, but when combined resemble a full-length feature film). The proto-feature movie is based on the 1862 French novel of the same name by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, and stars

Maurice Costello Maurice George Costello (February 22, 1877 – October 29, 1950) was a prominent American vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s who later played a principal role in early American films as leading man, supporting player, and director ...

and

William V. Ranous William V. Ranous (March 12, 1857 – April 1, 1915) was an American silent film actor and director and Shakespearean stage actor. Biography William V. Ranous was born in New York State on March 12, 1857. He married writer and translator ...

. It was directed by

J. Stuart Blackton James Stuart Blackton (January 5, 1875 – August 13, 1941) was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to ...

. Distributed by the

Vitagraph Company of America Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

, the film consists of four reels. The reels were released over the course of three months, from September 4 to November 27, 1909.

Plot

The film relates the lives of the French people during 20 years in the 19th century. The story focuses on

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

(Costello), an honest man who is running from an obsessive police inspector chasing him for an insignificant offense. Valjean escapes being incarcerated.

Cast

Javert Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a polic ...

* Hazel Neason * Marc McDermott

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miserables, Les (1909 film) 1909 films 1900s historical drama films American historical drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on Les Misérables Films directed by J. Stuart Blackton Vitagraph Studios films 1900s American films Silent American drama films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links