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La grande Bretèche
Also known as [The Great Breach]
(1909) France
B&W : One reel
Directed by André Calmettes
Cast: Véra Sergine [Madame de Merret], André Calmettes [Monsieur de Merret], Philippe Garnier [le Comte de Férédia], Henri Pouctal
Compagnie Genérale des Établissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes production; distributed by Compagnie Genérale des Établissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes. / From the novel La grande bretèche by Honore de Balzac. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was released in the USA by Pathé Frères on 12 December 1909.
Drama: Historical.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? In 1816 there appeared in the office of the Sub-prefect or Vendome a Spanish prisoner of war, the Count de Feredia. The Spanish nobleman was a handsome man who carried himself with the hauteur proverbial among the Spaniards of noble birth. Before the stern, forbidding Sub-prefect, the Count de Merret, Feredia stands awaiting the result of a note from the Prefect to his subordinate, ordering the latter to find suitable quarters for the prisoner and to obtain his parole. Having given his word of honor not to attempt to escape, the Spaniard seeks to beguile the hours among the gay throngs along the avenues where he sees and meets the Countess de Merret, the beautiful wife of the Sub-prefect. Condemned to a monotonous and uneventful life in the quiet province and married to a man in whose stern character she finds nothing to respond to the joyousness of her own nature, the Countess discovers in the person of Feredia a congenial companion; while in the society of one so beautiful and sympathetic, the courtly Spaniard finds palliation of his melancholy and forgets the irksomeness of his parole. Between two such souls a friendship such as this could scarce do less than ripen into love, and soon the fleeting moments in each other’s company in the presence of others seem not so sweet as stolen hours beneath the fragrant rose bower in the old formal garden. Even here, however, they are not alone, as two masons soon intrude their rudely material selves upon the spiritual loveliness enveloping these two throbbing souls. The Sub-prefect, though scarcely one to whom his wife’s fair charms appeal, guards jealously the honor of his ancient name and, his suspicions having been aroused, he lays the trap in which he hopes to snare the fluttering wings of Cupid-gone-astray. The Count de Merret announces his departure on some business of a pressing kind and drives away from La Grande Breteche only to return within the hour. In the meantime the Countess, thinking that her husband has now left for several days, has summoned her Spanish lover to her side and now within the dainty boudoir Feredia pours forth in a torrent of words the passionate story of his love. Seeing a crucifix suspended on a thread of gold around his sweetheart’s neck, he swears upon it fidelity through all eternity and then thrusting it next his heart, he gives his own ebony crucifix to her in return. Fatal gift. He little knows how in this emblem of the greatest tragedy and love earth ever witnessed his own doom is sealed. When the Sub-prefect returns and hurries to his wife’s apartments, he finds Rosalie, the maid, on guard. Thrusting her aside, he rains thunderous blows upon the door. Within terror blanches the face of the pretty wife. Ruin stalks before her eyes. Disgrace cries out in every blow her furious husband delivers on the panel. In desperation she forces Feredia into her closet, and mustering all her self-control, she opens the door. As the Count enters he is surprised to find his wife alone, but his glance falling on the closet, he accuses her of having hidden her lover there. This she denies and when her husband, doubting, advances toward the door, springs before him, “If you find no one,” she cries, “reflect that all will he over between us.” Apparently convinced by his wife’s declaration, he turns to leave. On the table lies the ebony crucifix. Seeing it, the Count makes his now terrified wife swear that no one is concealed within her closet. For the sake of her lover she consents to the perjury. “I know,” exclaims the Count, “your purity of soul, and since it would mean separation either way. I prefer not to examine the closet.” With that he summons the two masons working on the grounds and orders them to seal up the door which so nearly wrecked their home. Baffled, the frenzied girl stands watching the hideous work go on. Once, when the Count is called away, she makes a vain effort to rescue her imprisoned lover, but her implacable husband returns after only a momentary absence, and the attempt has only been rewarded by a fleeting glimpse of two somber eyes which burn their reproach into the wretched woman’s soul. For twenty days thereafter the Sub-prefect sits at the bedside of his wife, who has succumbed to the frightful ordeal. The end is near. The Count is feigning sleep in his arm chair. Slowly, with infinite effort, the Countess drags herself from her bed and tottering to the relentless barrier, taps a feeble, last farewell with the ebony crucifix, the fateful gift of her lover slowly dying behind the wall.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: (unknown) [France]; Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 23 January 2025.
References: MovPicWorld-19100108 p. 19 : Robinson-Palace p. 135 : Website-IMDb.
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[The Moving Picture World, 8 January 1910, page 19] After darkening the house this brief and general explanation of the film may be offered with advantage: La Grande Breteche is the name of a castle in the beautiful and historic French province, Vendome, and made famous by the celebrated French story-teller, Honore de Balzac. It is now nothing bus a mass of ruins and weeds, but at the time in which the story is laid, it was noted for its wonderous flowers and gardens, a fact, which in the running of the film, will be observed by you with pleasure. / As soon as this preamble in finished and the moment the title is flashed on the screen, the following lecture may be found useful: / Scene I. — The first picture takes us back to the time of the great Napoleon. In the war which he had waged against Spain among the many captives was a noble prisoner, Count Ferredia. An adjutant from Naploeon’s military staff has come to the Vendome and is now calling at the office of the sub-prefect, announcing the coming of the Spanish Count. The latter, a perfect type of the young Spanish grandee, enters and the adjutant hands the order concerning the prisoner of was to the assistant in charge of the office. (Order appears on screen.) The assistant reads the order which commands him to exact his parole from the Spaniard and obeys by asking the latter for it. Slowly, proudly the parole is given, the prisoner is politely dismissed and leaves, while the adjutant continues his report to the assistant sub-prefect. / Scene II. — A scene in front of the splendid gardens of the Grand Breteche, where the people gather evenings to play and promenade. The Spanish Count is in the throng, and presently observes with unfeigned admiration a strikingly handsome woman premenading with her maid. She is the wife of the sub-prefect, accompanied by her maid. She has lost the fragrant white rose she carried and gallantly the Count picks the precious flower from the ground and with a graceful bow hands it to the wife, who regarding the prisoner with ill-concealed favor, bids him with her eyes rather than her words to keep the flower. The adjutant and the assistant pass at this moment and meet the sub-prefect himself, Count Merrett, the husband of the handsome woman. All this has been quickly observed by Ferredia, who asks the assistant for an introduction and is thereupon introduced both to the prefect and his wife. / Scene III. — In the gardens of La Grand Breteche the Spanish prisoner and Countess Merret [sic] are sowing the dragon seed of sin at many a secret meeting, guarded by the faithful Rosalie. It was well the have her on the watch, for she has time to give the lovers warning, the Spaniard disappears with the maid through a rare path in the shrubbery, not a moment too soon, for it is evident that beneath the husband’s formal politeness there lurks suspicion. He finds it strange to see the wife in the gathering darkness busy with needlework and when she, still hoping for another glimpse of her lover, hesitates to come in, he forces her with scant ceremony to come in with him. / Scene IV. — Two masons from the vilalge have been ordered to do some work about the castle and have come for further instructions as to where to begin. (Short pause.) Count de Merrett, more suspicious than ever of his wife’s fidelity, new seeks to test it. He pretends to go away on a journey and the Countess falls unsuspectingly into the trap. When the clumsy, stupid masons have at last been gotten rid of, the wife sends her maid with a message to Count Ferredia asking him to come to Grande Breteche at once. (Message appears on screen.) / Scene V. — The message has been delivere, the maid signals to Ferredia hiding in the bushes and at the very same moment appears in a different part well able to to watch all the Count Merrett. The latter observes with bitter rage how the Spaniard is admitted into the house, cautiously walks over the lawn observed only by the clownish masons, who little realise what tragic part they will soon be called upon to play. / Scene VI. — The maid brings the happy lover into her mistress’ room, he fervently kisses her hand, but is uneasy at the presence of the maid, who, however, is presently dismissed from the room. Their cup of happiness seems full, she, gently restrain his ardor, takes the mantle and hat and hides it in the closet next to her room and then returns to her lover. He sees a small crucifix on her bosom and she, to show him her love, takes it from her neck and gives it to him. He in turn bethinks himself an ancient cricifix of silver and ebony and offers it to her, but in the impatience of his affection lays it on the table to devote himself to his new found love. / Scene VII. — Faithful Rosalie is guarding her mistress’ door, an evil office and an useless one as the event will show. / Scene VIII. — The lovers have drunk their fill of the cup of sweet venom, the lover draws the trembling hands of his mistress from her glowing face, turns the key and still lingers. / Scene IX. — Rosalie still on guard is found and pushed aside by the enraged husband, now sure of his prey and trembling in his eagerness for revenge. (Short pause.) / Scene X. — The knocking at the door strikes terror into the guilty lovers — they start and tremble and in their confusion they retain enough presence of mind to hide the Count Ferredia in the closet. / Scene XI. — A moment later the furious husband bursts into the room. No one there but his wife. He turns here and there, the wife is pale but self-possessed, he starts for the closet, she bars the way, the husband is in doubt as to his next step, when his eyes fall upon the cricifix on the table. “Who is in the closet?” he cries. “Speak.” “No one.” “No one? Then swear to it now on this crucifix.” “I swear.” Scarcely have the words dropped from the woman’s faltering lips, when the husband summons the maid and orders her to bring the masons into the room at once. “I will show you,” he says to the wife, “how much I trust in your words.” The masons come and are ordered by the Count to wall up the closet and do it at once and in his presence. / Scene XII. — The ill-starred prisoner is in an agony of suspense — he only can fear and suspect, when the blows from the masons’ tools rouse his worst fears. Are they digging his grave in which he must die? / Scene XIII. — Still the husband watches the work with feverish attention, the maid announces a visitor. He keeps his eyes on the work — at last he rises. Hope for one brief moment flames up inthe Countess’ breast — “Here, take this, money, gold, jewels and more later, break a pane in the door. Be quick about it. Quick.” One of the masons does as he is hidden and the Count peers out, the terror of death in his eyes — the sub-prefect returns, summons the masons back to their work. / Scene XIV. — And now the dim light of the closet has turned to darkness and in this darkness of death the prisoner gropes about, every moment making it clearer to him that he is to die within the narrow walls. / Scene XV. — The work of the masons is complete, they have gone. Never for a moment does the remorseless husband change his cold, formal politeness and bows to go. / Scene XVI. — Scarcely has he gone, when the wife seizes a pick to free the lover. / Scene XVII. — But the husband suspected this. He runs back, seizes the wife, crying out: “Madam is ill, she must to bed and it is my duty as her husband to stay right here with her.” Suiting the action to the word he has his slippers and his house cloak brought into the room and makes himself ready for a long stay. She rises on her couch, begging the husband to believe her and go and he tells her he believes her and that’s why he stays. / Scene XVIII. — Count Ferredia realizes that his end has come and dies with a last look at the fatal crucifix. / Scene XIX. — The doctor, called upon to attend the wife, after a brief examination, pronounces her speedy dissolution very probable and, after a word of sympathy to the husband, leaves. / Scene XX. — In her dying moments, quite forgetful of the presence of the stern husband, with the precious token before her eyes, the wretched wife strives and struggles with a last effort to rise and, gathering all her feeble strength together, seeks with faltering steps the wall of death and gently, with the last remnant of her life, strikes the cross of silver and ebony against the cruel stones — a glance at the husband, still unbending, and she falls over — dead. / Scene XXI. — And separated from her but by an inch or more of stone lies stark in death the partner of her guilt. |
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