The Physician of the Castle
About The Physician of the Castle
Two thieves lure a doctor out with a false message that a child is ill. While he is gone they break in and hold his wife at gunpoint. He learns of the danger by telephone, races back with his chauffeur, picks up two gendarmes, and the three disarm the men.
More about The Physician of the Castle
The director is uncredited. French Wikipedia sometimes assigns the film to Ferdinand Zecca. Pathé Frères produced the 6-minute picture. The French title is Le Médecin du château. The English release title used on the Internet Archive is A Narrow Escape. The plot follows the 1901 play Au téléphone by André de Lorde and Charles Foleÿ. A 1906 Pathé film by Lucien Nonguet, Terrible angoisse, had already used a telephone.
Themes
Look
Wide shots cover the rooms. The telephone call is cut in closer, at mid-shot, so the new machine reads on screen.
Preservation
A copy is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- The telephone conversation is framed closer than the other shots so the instrument can be seen.
- The cast is unnamed.
- A copy is on the Internet Archive under the English title A Narrow Escape.
Scenes
- The doctor hears the attack over the telephone and turns the car around.
- He, the chauffeur, and two gendarmes take the revolvers from the thieves.
Influenced by
- Au téléphone (1901 play)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-a-narrow-escape)