''Les Misérables'' is one of many filmed versions of the 1862

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 ...

novel of the same name. It is a 1917 American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

directed by

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its preside ...

, co-written by Lloyd and Marc Robbins, and produced by William Fox, released on December 3, 1917.theiapolis.com, retrieved August 31, 2012
/ref> It starred

William Farnum William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time. Biography Farnum was born on July 4, 1876, in Boston, Massachuse ...

Hardee Kirkland Hardee Kirkland (May 23, 1868 – February 18, 1929) was an American film actor and director of the silent era who appeared on stage. Kirkland was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of former Confederate Brigadier General William Whedbee K ...

, and George Moss.

Background and production

Even by the time this film was created in 1917, there had already been "at least a dozen" film adaptations of this Victor Hugo novel.mtv.com, retrieved August 31, 2012
/ref> Only a portion of the novel was included in the screenplay, but it included some of "the most famous" events, such as the story of the Bishop who gave Valjean his silver candlesticks in order to start a new life, and the street rebellion that was part of the June 1832 Rebellion. William Farnum was "Fox's biggest male box-office attraction" when the movie was made, and had previously appeared in Lloyd's 1917 film adaptation of the 1859

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...

''.

Plot

Jean Valjean is a French peasant who spends almost twenty years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, and then—when his "yellow passport" (given to him because of his status as a convicted criminal) makes it almost impossible to build a new life—he steals silverware from a kind Catholic Bishop who had given him a meal and a place to sleep. When the police find him with the silver they return him to the Bishop to confirm the theft, but the Bishop surprises Valjean by telling the police the silver had been a gift, and then adding his silver candlesticks, saying Valjean must have mistakenly left them behind because they were part of the gift. Valjean uses the money to start a new life under a new name, eventually becoming mayor of a small town, but police inspector Javert suspects Valjean, and works relentlessly to reveal his true identity and his past crimes.

Cast

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 ...

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 ...

* George Moss as the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Gretchen Hartman Gretchen Hartman (born Grace Barrett; August 28, 1897 – January 27, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. She is credited on 67 movies, nearly all silent. Early life Hartman was born Grace Barrett in Chicago, the daughter of actress ...

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young '' grisette'' in Paris who becomes pregnant by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look after their chil ...

Jewel Carmen Jewel Carmen (born Florence Lavina Quick; July 13, 1897 – March 4, 1984) was an American silent film actress who appeared in over thirty films, primarily in the late 1910s. In addition to her film career, she was involved in several scan ...

Cosette Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an u ...

Kittens Reichert Kittens Reichert (March 3, 1910 – January 11, 1990) was an American child actress in silent films. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George C. Reichert, she was born Catherine Alma Reichert in Yonkers, New York, but was nicknamed "Kittens ...

as Cosette (child) * Harry Spingler as

Marius Pontmercy Marius Pontmercy () is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revoluti ...

* Edward Elcott and Mina Ross as the

Thénardiers The Thénardiers, commonly known as (; ) and , are fictional characters, and the secondary antagonists in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel and in many adaptations of the novel into other media. They are ordinary working-class people who blame society f ...

* Anthony Phillips as

Gavroche Gavroche () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. He is a boy who lives on the streets of Paris. His name has become a synonym for an urchin or street child. Gavroche plays a short yet significant role i ...

Dorothy Bernard Nora Dorothy Bernard (June 25, 1890 – December 15, 1955) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1908 and 1956. Biography She was born Nora Dorothy Bernard in Port Elizabeth, British Cape Co ...

Éponine Éponine Thénardier (; ), also referred to as the "Jondrette girl", is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. The character is introduced as a spoiled and pampered child, but appears later in the novel as a r ...

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Les Misérables'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors cut the two intertitles "Why should you starve when you are young enough to attract me?" and "And you are still young to attract".

References

External links