Original subtitles

[Gaumont and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée,

in collaboration with the Cinématheque francaise, present

Directed by

THE MURDEROUS CORPSE

(original release November 1913)

Based on the Novel by Mr. Pierre Souvestre and Mr. Marcel Allain

Set Design Mr. Robert-Jules Garnier

Photography and Editing Mr. Georges Guérin

Fantomas / Nanteuil, the Banker Mr. René Navarre

Inspector Juve / Cranajour Mr. Edmond Bréon

Nibet, the Guard Mr. Naudier

Head of the Anthropometry Department Mr. Armand Dutertre

and

Lady Beltham Miss Renée Carl

Princess Sonia Danidoff Miss Jane Faber of the Comédie-Francaise

Madame Bourrat Mrs. Marie Dorly

After the explosion at Lady Beltham's villa,

Jéréome Fandor, gravely injured, is slowly recovering.

THE FIGHT AGAINST THE BANDITS

AFTERMATH OF THE TERRIBLE EXPLOSION IN NEUILLY

The gardens surrounding Lady Beltham's villa on Richard-Wallace Blvd. in Neuilly

were an apocalyptic sight.

The wreckage teemed with police, rescue workers and ambulance crews

pulling charred and dismembered corpses from the rubble.

The nameless bodies attest to the violence of the explosion.

INSPECTOR JUVE AMONG THE VICTIMS

Reading these words,

Fandor realizes the gaping hole

the loss of his friend is going to create in his life.

Next to the courthouse,

a second-hand shop run by Ma Toulouche,

a well-known fence.

She's recently hired a simpleton nicknamed Cranajour

due to the fact that his cranium seems singularly empty.

Toulouche's right-hand man, a prison guard named Nibet...

The cellar under the shop connects to the sewers

which empty into the Seine.

Part One THE TRAGEDY IN RUE NORVINS

Jacques Dollon, a young ceramist, works on rue Norvins

in the heart of Montmartre.

The next morning, the cleaning lady arrives.

Terrified, she returns with the police.

"Baroness de Vibraye, dead! But how did she get here?"

Dear Madame,

If you'd care to visit Montmartre one evening,

I'd love to show you some ceramics I'm preparing for the salon.

My sister Elisabeth should return soon.

Humbly and respectfully yours, Jacques Dollon

Unable to prove his innocence,

~ the young artist is brought before the investigating judge.

In the Anthropometry Department.

Jacques Dollon, dazed, is then transferred

to a courthouse holding cell.

In his cell, Jacques Dollon falls prey to a vicious attack.

Once again, it's Nibet at work!

Meanwhile, in The Capital's newsroom,

Fandor, fully recovered, is finishing his article on the tragedy in rue Norvins.

"Hello, Fandor? Breaking news!

Dollon was found strangled in his cell!"

This calls for an update.

Breaking News

We've learned that Jacques Dollon,

who was arrested for the murder of Baroness de Vibraye,

has been found strangled in his cell.

Our investigation is under way.

Very quickly, Fandor arrives at the courthouse,

which becomes his second home from that moment on.

He's immediately admitted to the office of Judge Fuselier,

who is in charge of the case.

The journalist hands the judge his article

entitled "Scandal at the Courthouse!"

Elisabeth Dollon, having returned from a voyage,

requests the judge's permission

to see her brother, Jacques Dollon,

who is being detained in a holding cell.

"Miss, you cannot see your brother..."

"He is dead!"

"Where is the body?"

Comforted by Jéréme Fandor,

Elisabeth Dollon leaves the courthouse,

that "House of Tears."

In The Capital's newsroom,

Fandor writes a new article on the courthouse mystery.

How can a corpse disappear from a cell

without anyone noticing?

This is the astounding question we may pose the authorities.

JEROME FANDOR, BE CAREFUL!

THE MATTER YOU ARE INVESTIGATING IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE

BUT MAY HAVE TERRIBLY

It takes more than that to scare the young journalist.

Elisabeth Dollon arrives at rue Norvins

to begin the painful inventory of her brother's studio.

Baroness de Vibraye, April 3, Jacques Dollon

Hold... ditto

Sonia Danidoff, April 19

Thomery, during May

Nanteuil, end of May

Meanwhile, in the sewers under the courthouse on lle de la Cité,

the Man in Black prepares to perform a gruesome operation

on the young ceramist's corpse.

Part Two FANDOR'S INVESTIGATION

Fandor has himself locked up in the courthouse

in order to discover how a corpse could disappear from a holding cell there.

Cranajour lodges in the garret over Toulouche's shop,

and its skylight overlooks the courthouse roof.

In an air duct,

Midnight. In her shop, Ma Toulouche plays cards.

Cargo arrives via the Seine at midnight.

Be there to help me unload. The Sailor.

14h Ernactinal? "To our health, Ernestine!

Nibet is furious at Cranajour for his actions.

But now Fandor knows

how a corpse could have been removed from the holding cell

without using the door...

Part Three THE PRINCESS'S NECKLACE

That evening,

the cream of Paris society throngs the party

hosted by Thomery, a prominent sugar manufacturer,

in honor of his upcoming marriage to Princess Sonia Danidoff.

Thomery shows the princess the boudoir provided for her private use.

An incident.

"Pardon me. I must fix this rip."

Once again, it's Nibet.

He catches the necklace and calmly walks off.

A senior police official is among the guests.

He immediately begins searching for clues.

"Did you notice that fingerprint?"

4 ama 12 "We've got him

The next day, in the Anthropometry Department,

the senior official compares his photograph with the police files.

The fingerprint is a perfect match to one recently filed...

FIRST AND LAST NAME: JACQUES DOLLON

BORN FEBRUARY 20, 1888 IN PARIS

PROFESSION: CERAMIST/PAINTER

RIGHT HAND FINGERPRINTS

"I'd like to believe you, but that's absurd!

Dollon died a week ago, ~~ and the necklace was stolen last night!"

"Perhaps so, but Dr. Bertillon's system is infallible.

The print is definitely

Part Four NANTEUIL, THE BANKER

A few weeks later, in the banker's office.

To Nanteuil, from Detouche.

Market order to buy 500 shares of Thomery stock, deliverable in five days.

"Sir, a lady asks to see you.

She wouldn't give her name."

Lady Beltham, Fantémas's mistress, accomplice and victim.

Unable to resist her tyrant, the poor woman obeys.

We have reason to believe

that Princess Sonia Danidoff would be interested in these pearls,

which are just as fine as those stolen from her.

We could obtain a similar necklace for her at an excellent price.

3 o'clock, Weber Restaurant, Buttes-Chaumont Park.

Thomery goes to the princess to tell her of the dastardly extortion.

The meeting at Weber Restaurant.

The emissary of the thief is waiting.

Part Five ELISABETH DOLLON

The young lady has taken lodgings at Bourrat's boardinghouse in Auteuil.

Baroness de Vibraye, April 3, Jacques Dollon

Hold... ditto

Sonia Danidoff, April 19

Thomery, during May

Nanteuil, end of May

Bourrat's boardinghouse is quite reputable,

but, due to a premonition,

Elisabeth seeks a hiding place for the strange list.

She resolves to accept the aid Jérome Fandor offered her.

Dear Mr. Fandor,

In my brother's studio,

I found a strange list of names and dates,

which recent crimes have given a sinister meaning.

I don't dare risk mailing it.

Would you come get it tomorrow at Bourrat's boardinghouse?

At midnight.

Fantomas himself comes to search for the list

he lost at Jacques Dollon's.

Elisabeth is deeply asleep,

doubtlessly due to the herbal tea she drank before bed...

After a fruitless search,

Fantomas decides

the young woman will take his secret to the grave.

The next morning, Fandor arrives at The Capital.

In my brother's studio, I found a strange list of names and dates,

which recent crimes have given a sinister meaning.

I don't dare risk mailing it.

Would you come get it tomorrow at Bourrat's boardinghouse?

Elisabeth has regained consciousness.

Fandor decides to hide her in a convent for her safety.

And Fandor goes to recover the mysterious document.

Baroness de Vibraye, April 3, Jacques Dollon

Hold... ditto Sonia Danidoff, April 19

Thomery, during May Nanteuil, end of May

Footsteps on the stairs...

A police captain with a striking resemblance to Nanteuil, the banker,

accompanied by an aide oddly similar to Nibet, the guard...

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

By order of Judge Fuselier,

Captain Dulac is authorized

to immediately search the lodgings of Elisabeth Dollon

at Bourrat's boardinghouse in Auteuil.

By taking everything,

Fantomas is sure to finally recover the incriminating list.

Shaken, Fandor returns to The Capital's newsroom.

The editor requests Fandor to write an article as soon as possible

on Thomery's mysterious disappearance,

which has been causing his company's stocks to crash

over the past 24 hours.

Thomery, during May Nanteuil, end of May

"Jérome, listen to this!"

Havas News Agency

We have learned that Mr. Thomery's body has just been found

in an empty apartment on rue Lecourbe.

The deceased had been strangled with a police chief's scarf

on which were found, once again, the fingerprints of Jacques Dollon,

who committed suicide in his holding cell.

The fake police chief at Bourrat's boardinghouse.

His scarf around Thomery's corpse's neck.

Once again, Jacques Dollon's fingerprints...

Nothing but bizarre clues!

Part Six THE GLOVES OF HUMAN SKIN

That morning, near police headquarters at quai des Orfévres,

Fandor again studies the mysterious list

sorely missing his friend Juve's intuition.

"Thanks, Fandor."

Juve's office.

It's really you!"

"I needed to lay low, kid!

Thanks to Cranajour,

I was able to get close to Fantémas's gang

and save your life in the sewers."

Baroness de Vibraye, April 3, Jacques Dollon

Hold... ditto Sonia Danidoff, April 19

Thomery, during May Nanteuil, end of May

"You and I are going to pay this Nanteuil a visit."

JEROME FANDOR JOURNALIST, THE CAPITAL

INSPECTOR JUVE NATIONAL POLICE

"The secret of the dead man's prints! The skin of Jacques Dollon's hands!"

"You're finished, Fantomas!"

Once again, Fantomas escapes the police.

Once again, the fearsome bandit is at large

in a society against which he plans nothing but ruin and suffering!

THE END

This film was restored in 2013 by Gaumont

with the help of the Centre National du Cinéma et de I'image animée

as part of a program for the restoration and digitization of our film heritage,

and in collaboration with the Cinémathéque francaise.

Frames were scanned in 4K from the original nitrate negative,

the internegative and two prints for any missing shots.

The intertitles were reconstructed based on texts intended for theater owners

that were published in 1913 and 1914 by Gaumont.