Original subtitles

THE GALLERY OF MONSTERS has been restored in 4K by the laboratory of the CNC

from the original film negative.

An original nitrate copy from the collections of the Cinémathèque Française

was used as a reference for: tinting, the composition of certain intertitles,

and the absence of very short fragments of images.

50 years of heritage at the CNC

A film directed by, and starring, Jacque-Catelain

THE GALLERY OF MONSTERS

There is a winter twilight over Castile, a village lost in the Sierra...

Lonely orphan Ofelia...

...camped in these ruins, nomadic gypsies...

"For sure, we've tarried here too long... the time of the festivals is near

...TOMORROW, we'll head south!...."

One who follows them only with regret,

bound to them by an oath of which the tribe makes a law.

A great love, from as far away as they,

has brought together these two children who everything keeps apart...

"At dawn, we have to leave...

Now that I know you, I no longer have the heart to follow them...”

“Here, without you, it would be too sad...

take me with you... I'll die if you leave me!...”

"...we could be so happy here!

Let's ask your grandfather again for his consent...

He'd protect us from them..."

“I swear, it's to get married to stay here...

Close to you...”

"You want to follow me, you said?...

...So, let's leave tonight we'll stay well hidden...

We'll go quickly.... We'll find happiness further on...."

"Will you let us say goodbye to my "Holy Virgin?"

They saw the Virgin of Sorrows smiling...

And their naive hearts believed that, in the absence of the priest,

she married them, herself, forever...

They were leaving without fear...

...They felt nothing but the joy of their love

And then... Some years later in old Toledo...

...a cavalcade parading through the city on its feast day...

...announced the unexpected arrival of a "great attraction"

a fairground: the Buffalo carnival...

And that evening

the carnival begins

“Roll up! Ladies and Gentlemen Roll up!...”

Wife of the brutal director, Buffalo, the humble Madame Violette

Kiki, the Indian temple dancer

Flossie the "American" dancer

"Now ladies you will see Buffalo, the renowned Buffalo, terror of the beasts"

"In the intermission, gentlemen, visit the "gallery of monsters",

the most famous human phenomena... the most evocative: the mermaid,

the half-man, half-woman, the giantess... Here is her shoe...”

"...come in...come in... you will see the graceful Ralda..."

...and Riquett's the king of laughter

in the famous pantomime “Facing the Beasts”

Turmoil - Riquett's and Ralda are not there!

Through sheer hard work, "Riquett's" and "Ralda"

have become the stars of this wandering troupe,

despite the misery, the jealousies of others, the hardships,

they have kept their love unchanged, as pure as the snow where it was born

A child was born, their only joy...

Today he is sick and, for him, they forget everything else...

“...you'll have to stop fussing over your chicks like a mother hen"

I'm the master, you hear me, and this has to change!"

"and if Riquett's protests... -I know people who are looking for him..."

Flossie, a devious girl, has a taste for conquests

"Always mollycoddling!...

You missed your turn, the boss is furious".

Sveti, a false friend

"...say Ralda... you wouldn't have a towel to pass me?..."

“Come on Sveti, behave yourself... Go and get dressed!”

Buffalo, whom everyone hates,

is too hard on Riquett's and too obliging to Ralda.

"...I warn you, if this carries on...

It won't be long before we're out of here."

"I'm not stopping you, but she... she stays!"

"Take care of it, Pirouette...

ask him for change, bring him back... let him leave them be..."

In the midst of these monstrous beings, who do everything to separate them,

Riquett's and Ralda have only the consolation of the past.

"...now ...what a life!"

"And the little one? Is he any better?..."

“Yes, but we'll still have to leave, This can't go on."

At last: Riquett's!

"You shouldn't lurk about too often... it would turn out badly!”

And while Riquett's is dancing in Flossie's arms...

“Don't worry, old man, what I do is for your benefit,

when you're not there I keep an eye on him.”

Later the performance comes to life.

Now Buffalo presents his protégé...

"I'm telling you, we have to leave everything,

otherwise there will be misfortune... ...We have to go..."

"He's got to go..."

"We're all tired of putting up with him, and so are you of course...

And Ralda even more! ...so..."

...help me...”

“Oh! No... Not that, Madame Violette ...not that!”

"it's time for you to decide,

Is it yes?... Or is it no?"

“No, of course not, never... never!”

"Come on! Don't be sad, come and help me,

here's the intermission, it's time for me to become a phenomenon!”

The gallery of monsters where the announced attractions are getting ready:

The giantess and her husband...

The torso-woman...

The bearded lady...

And Pirouette, now a mermaid

"As I've told you before, you're a fool to be faithful to her..."

“when it's not with Buffalo, it's with him that she deceives you...

You're the only one who doesn't know anything about it.”

"if you say one single word, I'll..."

"you...find a doctor, hurry!"

"Riquett's...if you only knew"

“...who cares how she is,

What I want is not to give any refunds ...understand?”

"the accident isn't serious,

Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen: The show will go on!"

"Riquett's has to perform. Convince him."

“If not, you know, I'll have something to take him to task over...”

Madame Violette tells a white lie

"If you perform... he promised to give me money...

To treat her ...to cure her..."

"And now you will applaud the merry Riquett's

in the pantomime “Facing the Beasts”

"Come on, be brave ...we're waiting for you!"

"if the doctor comes, have him wait for me..."

"...and then if it doesn't go well, understand...

you're to come and get me!”

"In the middle of the desert a weary explorer (Riquett's)

and his coquettish companion..."

They are about to eat.

...when a monkey

and a lion

"is the doctor coming?...

- Who cares... it'd be better if she passed away..."

"I assure you... A minor accident, a simple accident..."

"Simple accident of no consequence... So, it's alright!"

"You are too late ...your beloved, it's over..."

"Go away..."

The doctor reassured Riquett's that Ralda's injuries were not dangerous.

And a little later, that night...

And while in the calm of sleep Riquett's dreams...

Soon after...

"He's sleeping....very soundly It's time... Hurry..."

Little by little, in silence, everyone...

"If you are too unhappy here, come and join us in the village."

"Well...say goodbye to me anyway..."

But...

"catch up with them ...and bring them back to me."

NO!

They're gone... Madame Violette no longer has any reason to remain silent

"that man is a monster ...a murderer..."

While under arrest Madame Violette, exhausted but happy, thinks back...

...to those who are moving on and whose happiness she has safeguarded