The Tenth Symphony
About The Tenth Symphony
Eve Dinant, a rich orphan, lives with Fred Ryce. When she tries to leave, she shoots his sister. She pays him to keep quiet. A couple of years later she marries the composer Enric Damor. His daughter Claire falls in love with Fred, and Enric allows the engagement. Eve tells Enric the wedding must not happen. Fred lets him find a letter, and Eve, rather than explain the past, says she loves Fred. Enric writes his Tenth Symphony on a woman’s betrayal. Fred says he will drop Claire if Eve returns to him. She agrees. He writes Claire: “Dearest Claire, a whim does not last. Mine is already finished. Spring will dry your tears. Farewell. Fred.” Claire goes to his house with a gun. Eve tries to stop her. Fred turns his own gun on himself. Eve tells Claire about the sister. She goes back to Enric. Abel Gance wrote and directed.
Cast & crew
More about The Tenth Symphony
Louis Nalpas produced it. Léonce-Henri Burel photographed it. Marguerite Beaugé edited it. Michel-Maurice Lévy wrote the music. He is also credited as Bétove. Pathé distributed it. Wikipedia dates the release 1 November 1918 and times the film at 94 minutes. It was shot in the summer of 1917. Séverin-Mars plays Enric. Jean Toulout plays Fred. Emmy Lynn plays Eve. Elizabeth Nizan plays Claire. André Lefaur plays the Marquis de Groix St-Blaise. An Internet Archive identifier is silent-the-tenth-symphony.
Themes
Making
Gance shot the melodrama in 1917 at Film d’Art, mostly in mid-shots and close views of the faces, and released it the next November.
Look
Léonce-Henri Burel shot the rooms and the faces in medium close view.
Music
Michel-Maurice Lévy, also known as Bétove, wrote the music for the silent film.
Preservation
The film survives. A copy is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- The name on the cast list is Fred Ryce, not Fred Rice.
- The sister is killed in the same room where Fred later shoots himself.
- Claire is tired of the marquis before she meets Fred.
- Société des Cinéromans is not the company on these credits.
Scenes
- Eve shoots Fred’s sister when she tries to leave him.
- Enric writes the symphony after Eve says she loves Fred.
- Fred writes the curt letter, then turns the gun on himself.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-tenth-symphony)
Quotes
Dearest Claire, a whim does not last. Mine is already finished. Spring will dry your tears. Farewell. Fred.
