A Desperate Crime (1906)

Interesting facts

A Desperate Crime, also known as Histoire d'un crime, is a 1906 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès.

Production

Méliès's greatest financial successes had occurred in 1903 and 1904; by 1906, his fortunes had begun to decline as competition with other firms, such as Pathé Frères and Gaumont, became more intense. In an attempt to keep financially afloat, Méliès expanded from his usual fantasy style to try making films in the genres his competitors had made popular, including the melodramas A Desperate Crime and The Christmas Angel and the chase film The Chimn…

According to the 1944 recollections of Georges Méliès's nephew Paul, the scenario for A Desperate Crime was written by Gaston Méliès (Georges's brother and Paul's father). Méliès's American catalogue claimed that the crime in the film was based on a real-life incident.

The actor Manuel, who directed some films for the Méliès studio in 1908, plays the main role of the bandit who is arrested and executed. Georges Méliès probably plays the executioner's assistant. In a highly unusual move for Méliès, many of the scenes were shot outdoors on location, outside of Méliès's property in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis; as far as is known, the only other occasions Méliès filmed outside his property were for some of the act…

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