Silent Movie Review: Blue Beard (1901) Dir. George Melies

A year before he made his iconic adventurous classic "A Trip to The Moon", George Méliès created a darker tale called Blue Beard, based on the French folktale by Charles Perrault. In 1899, Méliès adapted Perrault's other famous story, "Cinderella", into a six-minute short film. It was met with praise in Europe and in the U.S. By the 1900s, Méliès started to create much longer features with more elaborate settings and costumes. In 1897, he directed The Haunted Castle but his 1901 short film, Blue Beard, is much darker. It is a spot on horror adaptation about a rich, murderous man looking to marry again and the woman he marries finds herself in a bloody situation. Some spoilers ahead as I go through some scenes in detail.

The ten-minute short opens with the ugly and extremely wealthy, Lord Bluebeard (George Méliès) in search of a new young bride. He flaunts his treasures in front of the eligible young women but they flat out refuse their hand in marriage. Not only is he unattractive, they are aware of rumors of him killing his previous wives. Unfortunately, a father forces his daughter (Jeanne D'Alcy) to marry him. Once she signs the documents, Blue Beard and his new wife go to have a wedding festivities. A lavish dinner is prepared for the new couple and their guests. A toast is made in celebration of their union. After the bride settles in Bluebeard’s castle, he tells her he is going away, He gives her the Castle keys, but forbids her to go into a specific room.  His wife becomes increasingly curious about the forbidden room. Should she stay out or take a look a look inside? Of course, she is overwhelmed by her curiosity and the lady goes into the chamber, where she discover's her husband's grisly secret.

Méliès is not shy when it comes to playing the antagonist. Much like his performance as the demon Mephistopheles in 400 Tricks of the Devil

 (1906)and The Haunted Castle (1897), Méliès appears to have a blast playing the villainous Bluebeard. His rambunctious attitude and grand gestures add a bit of humor. Yet his violent actions towards his wives, particularly towards his 8th wife in the final act, remind us just how malicious a man Bluebeard is according to folklore. Méliès is a cinematic magician of the silent era due to his fanciful special effects. His stop tricks are not present until the second half of the film. When the young maiden debates whether or not to go inside the dark chamber, a mischevious imp pops out from a small book in the puff of smoke. Whenever the imp or the faerie (Bleutte Bernon) appears I think back to the whimsical touch Méliès puts in his movies demonstrated in his subsequent films. That being said, most of his visual effects in Blue Beard achieve a grimmer, suspenseful tone. The scene where D'Arcy's character discovers her husband's seven dead wives is one of the darkest scenes I've seen so far from a Méliès film. You could only imagine how audiences of the early 1900s reacted. Thanks to Méliès' clever use of low lighting, the bodies of the deceased women could easily be mistaken for 7 sacks, until the set is fully lit and you can see each of the women hung by hooks. Simple but effective.

The horror doesn't end there. The following dream sequence is just as gothic. D'Arcy tosses and turns as she imagines the spirits of her husband's deceased ex-wives. Bluebeard also appears standing above her, tall and erect, with a sword pointing down at her before he fades. The image is striking. For the majority of the film, Bluebeard stomps around and waves his hands like a child. Here, we see an image of this woman's darkest fear- an abusive, stoic man exerting his power over her. Then, you have the seven bouncing blood stained keys each representing the women who came before her. The entire dream is provoked by the imp, sitting right next to her. He represents a part of the wife's guilty conscience since he encourages her to go into the room in the first place. Meanwhile, the faerie acts more of the protector who ends the lady's nightmare by banishing the imp away. Nonetheless, it's a dark scene for a 'Méliès film. I get the feeling Méliès didn't want the film to be all doom and gloom. The final act feels more of a dark comedy but the film comes full circle. After confronting his wife about the bloody key, Bluebeard ends up being taken down by her brothers. Though, not before seeing his former wives are revived and happily marry other men. It's a stark contrast to the dream earlier because women ultimately win their power back.

Blue Beard is a great film. It strikes a good balance of horror and comedy. Though it is not as fantastical as A Trip To The Moon, I think fans of George Méliès could still appreciate it.  It still has the typical Méliès detailed setting and costumes. The performances overall are enjoyable.  I recommend you give this one a shot.