The Obsession
About The Obsession
At a soirée the palmist Josepha de Delphes tells Jeanne Trévoux that someone she loves will die soon, and Jeanne cannot tell whether that means her husband Jacques or their son Georges. Jacques sails for America on the Titanic despite her pleas. After the liner sinks she believes the prediction has come true, until a telegram says the Carpathia has saved him. Her fear then settles on the boy.
Cast & crew
More about The Obsession
Louis Feuillade wrote and directed the Gaumont short. Renée Carl plays Jeanne Trévoux and René Navarre plays her husband Jacques.
Themes
Background
The Titanic sank on 15 April 1912. Gaumont released Feuillade's short the following October, while the disaster was still current news.
Making
Feuillade does not stage the wreck. The short stays with Jeanne's fear, and with the news that Jacques survived.
Preservation
The CNC holds an incomplete 35mm copy.
Notes
- The French title is La hantise.
- Wikipedia calls it the second-earliest surviving film about the Titanic. For years it was treated as the earliest; a picture released two months earlier was identified in 1998.
- Miss Édith plays Josepha. Maurice Mathieu is little Georges, and Henri Jullien is Jeanne's godfather.
Scenes
- Josepha de Delphes reads Jeanne's palm at the party.
- Jeanne tries to keep Jacques from sailing on the Titanic.
- A telegram reports that he is safe, and her fear turns to Georges.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (La hantise (1912).webm)
