The Oubliette
About The Oubliette
François Villon and Colin give their money to an evicted couple, then steal two monks' purses. Colin is hanged. Villon kills a knight who mocks the body and puts on his armor. At an inn he hears Philippa de Annonay, held by her guardian, Chevalier Bertrand de la Payne. Villon kills de la Payne and throws the body from a balcony, then takes Philippa back to her castle and goes on to Paris. King Louis XI has him arrested and, disguised as a convict, offers escape if Villon will help overthrow the king. Villon refuses and is knighted when Louis reveals himself.
Cast & crew
More about The Oubliette
The first of four Charles Giblyn films called The Adventures of François Villon. Harry G. Stafford wrote the screenplay from George Bronson Howard's story in The Century Magazine. Universal released it on August 15, 1914. Lee O. Bartholomew photographed it. Murdock MacQuarrie plays Villon. Lon Chaney is de la Payne.
Themes
Background
Howard's story had run in The Century Magazine. The film uses the poet-thief François Villon and the reign of Louis XI as a costume adventure rather than a chronicle.
Making
Giblyn shot the Villon series as three-reel historical dramas for Universal's Bison brand. This one runs three reels.
Reviews
Moving Picture World wrote about the staging, the acting, and the action.
Look
Lee O. Bartholomew photographed the three reels, including the balcony fight and the disguised king.
Preservation
Treated as lost until a nitrate print in good condition was found in Georgia in the summer of 1983. A copy is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- Chaney is killed in the inn fight and thrown off a second-floor balcony. He is only briefly in this installment and returns in a later one.
- Chester Withey plays Colin. Pauline Bush is Philippa. Doc Crane plays Louis XI.
- Millard K. Wilson, who plays Chevalier Philip de Soisson, later directed Chaney at MGM.
- A nitrate print in three metal cans turned up in the summer of 1983 in Georgia, found while porch steps were being rebuilt.
- With By the Sun's Rays, this is one of the earliest Chaney films that still exists.
- The second film in the series, The Higher Law, is not known to survive. A still shows Chaney as de la Payne just before the sword fight.
Scenes
- Villon and Colin empty their purses for an evicted couple.
- Colin is hanged, and Villon kills the knight who jeers at the corpse.
- De la Payne's body goes off the inn balcony.
- Louis XI, dressed as a convict, offers Villon a chance to betray the crown.
Influenced by
- George Bronson Howard's story The Oubliette
Also available
- Internet Archive (TheOubliette1914)
