Verdun, visions d'histoire (1928)

The French silent film Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928) is a dramatised account of the battle of Verdun (1916), a key World War I battle. French troops, fighting alone and often in desperate hand-to-hand combat, had to halt the German advance at all costs. The docudrama uses newsreel footage, director Léon Poirier's own highly realistic reconstructions of the conflict and some little dramatic scenes which add a thread of personal interest to the events.


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 547. Photo: Albert Préjean as the symbolic figure of Le Soldat Français (The French soldier) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 548. Photo: Daniel Mendaille as Le Mari (The Husband) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Leon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 549. Photo: Suzanne Bianchetti as La Femme (The Wife) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 550. Photo: Pierre Nay as Le Fils (The Son) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 551. Photo: André Nox as L'Aumonier (The Chaplain) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928).

Crawling across no-man's-land

Director Léon Poirier tells Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, historical visions from both sides. The film is surprisingly sympathetic to the German point of view, considering when it was made.

Poirier's pacifist stance is revealed in several moments, notably in one scene when two angels descend onto the battlefield and extract the souls of two soldiers, one German and one French, and place them together on a stretcher which they carry up to heaven.

The fort that is posing for Fort Vaux during the attack on it in the film is actually Fort Tavannes. It is not far from Fort Vaux and has been attacked during the real battle in 1916.

The film features newly filmed material but also features much archive footage of Emperor Wilhelm II and German marches. The special effects are well done, with a huge variety of explosions, ghostly images, scenery and graphic maps to illustrate the battle.

The re-enacted battle sequences, place the viewer in the midst of the horror, crawling across no-man's-land, cowering in fox-holes, or being blown apart in trenches. The countryside is shown as a moonscape of craters and splintered trees.


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 552. Photo: Jean Dehelly as Le Jeune Homme (The Young Man) and an anonymous local woman as La Jeune Fille (The Young Woman) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 554. Photo: José Davert as Le Vieux Paysan (The Old Farmer) in Verdun, visions d'histoire (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 555. Photo: Maurice Schutz as Le Vieux Maréchal d'Empire (The Old Marshal) in Verdun, visions d'histoire (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Editions Cinemagazine, no. 556. Photo: Thomy Bourdelle as L'Officier Allemand (The German officer) in Verdun, visions d'histoire (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 344. Photo: Alban. Suzanne Bianchetti as The Wife in Verdun, visions d'histoire (Léon Poirier, 1928).

Filmed in a real shell hole

Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History is filmed on location in Verdun and its surroundings. The scene in which the Intellectual (Antonin Artaud) dies, is actually filmed in a real shell hole. Remains of a human arm were found with an ID tag on which the filmmakers could just make out: "Fulle... 1916" (Class of 1916).

According to Poirier, the entire cast and crew of the film were made up of actual French and German World War I veterans, including Marshal Philippe Pétain who portrays himself. For the Bois des Caures scene, many actual veterans are used. Among them are Lieutenant Robin and captain Vantroys, who responded to Léon Poirier's call to participate in the film. They are playing themselves in the film.

The only exceptions were the female actresses, like Suzanne Bianchetti and Jeanne Marie-Laurent, and the older actors such as André Nox and Maurice Schutz. Antonin Artaud also wasn't a veteran. Other than Pétain, the film pays tribute to the officers Robert Nivelle, Charles Mangin, Ferdinand Foch and Georges Guynemer.

The premiere of the film took place in Paris in November 1928, at the Opéra Garnier, to celebrate the 10 years of the armistice. The film was screened in the presence of the French president and the German ambassador, with an original orchestra score by André Petiot. It was released in regular cinemas on 23 November 1928. In 1931, Poirier re-edited the film and added an audio track to create a sound film, which was released under the title Verdun, souvenirs d'histoire/Verdun, Memories of History. Some scenes were re-shot using different actors.

Many prints of Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928) were lost over the years and only very few prints were available. The best existing print was found in Moscow: stolen from France by the Nazis, then grabbed by the Russians at the end of the war. A restoration by the Cinémathèque de Toulouse of this print of the original silent version was issued on DVD in 2006.


Cover of the French magazine La Petite Illustration, no. 408, 18 September 1928. The picture shows Albert Préjean in the film Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun, Visions of History (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by Editions V.G., no. 32. Verdun, visions d'histoire (Léon Poirier, 1928) was released a decade after the end of the First World War.


French postcard by Editions V.G., no. 43.


French postcard by Editions V.G., no. 44.


French postcard by Editions V.G., no. 37.


French postcard by Photo-Edit. E. Mignon, Nangis, Seine-et-Marne, no. 1021. The film Verdun, visions d'histoire (Léon Poirier, 1928) shown in Melun (Seine et Marne district), which is some 50 km from Paris.

Sources: Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.

Suzanne Bianchetti

French film actress Suzanne Bianchetti (1889-1936) was one of France's most loved and respected actresses of her time. She played Marie Antoinette in Abel Gance's epic Napoléon (1927) and worked with many other great names of the silent cinema. After her death the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti was created in her memory, an annual French award to be given to the most promising young actress.


French postcard in the series 'Les Vedettes de Cinéma' by A.N., Paris, no. 174. Suzanne Bianchetti in Les Aventures de Robert Macaire/The Adventures of Robert Macaire (Jean Epstein, 1925).


French postcard in the series 'Les Vedettes de Cinéma' by A.N., Paris, no. 175. Photo: J. des Boutin.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 747. Photo: Alban. Suzanne Bianchetti as Queen Marie-Antoinette of France in the Franco-German coproduction Cagliostro (Richard Oswald, 1929). The year written on the card does not refer to the French release, as that was in 1929 as well.

Short silent comedies

Suzanne Bianchetti was born in Paris in 1889. During the First World War, she made her cinema debut. Her first appearance was in the propaganda film La femme française pendant la guerre/The French Woman during the War (Alexandre Devarennes, 1917). She showed a definite talent for cinema.

At that time she married actor René Jeanne, who served as Director of the Etablissement Cinématographique des Armées. Later he became a journalist and scriptwriter.

She quickly became popular with short silent comedies like Riquette se marie/Riquette Marries (Alexandre Devarennes, 1918). Soon she became a star.

Her first dramatic part was in La Marseillaise (Henri Desfontaines, 1920) opposite André Nox. According to IMDb, she later “said in an interview that she thought of quitting film acting when she saw herself in that film”.


French postcard by Edition des Studios-Rahma, Paris. Photo: Suzanne Bianchetti as Marquise d'Harville in the film serial Les mystères de Paris/The Mysteries of Paris (Charles Burguet, 1922).


French postcard by Edition Cinémagazine. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924) with Raquel Meller as Violetta and Suzanne Bianchetti as Empress Eugénie. Visible in the back is the Chateau de Compiègne, Napoleon III's residence.


French postcard by Edition Cinémagazine. Photo: Raquel Meller as Violetta and Suzanne Bianchetti as Empress Eugénie in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924).

Ideal as sovereigns

During the 1920s Suzanne Bianchetti became one of France's most loved and respected actresses and worked with many of the notables of the silent film era, such as Antonin Artaud and the singer Damia.
A director who particularly appreciated her was Jacques de Baroncelli, under whose direction she made Flipotte (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1920) and Le rêve/The Dreasm (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1921), both starring Gabriel Signoret , Le père Goriot (1921) with Jacques Grétillat, La légende de sœur Béatrix (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1923) with Eric Barclay and La flambée des rêves (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1924) with Charles Vanel.

Her other silent films include Jocelyn (Léon Poirier, 1922), the populartwelve-part serial Les Mystères de Paris/The Mysteries of Paris (Charles Burguet, 1922), adapted from the work of Eugène Sue, Violettes imperials/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924) with Raquel Meller, and the American romantic costume comedy-drama Madame Sans-Gêne (Léonce Perret, 1925), a lavish Paramount production starring Gloria Swanson.

The talented Bianchetti was ideal for roles as sovereigns. In 1927, Bianchetti appeared in her two most famous films, as a haughty and contemptuous Marie Antoinette in the classic epic Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927) and as Catherine II in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927) featuring Ivan Mozzhukhinas the great seducer.

A year later she appeared in another silent classic, Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (Léon Poirier, 1928) as the wife of the French soldier (Albert Préjean). She played Marie Antoinette again in Richard Oswald's Cagliostro (1929), filmed in Germany with Hans Stüwe in the role of the famous adventurous doctor, adept in occult sciences.


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 344. Photo: Alban. Suzanne Bianchetti in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (Léon Poirier, 1928).


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 549. Photo: Alban. Suzanne Bianchetti as La Femme (the wife) in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (Léon Poirier, 1928).

A martyr

After the introduction of sound film, Suzanne Bianchetti could be seen in re-edited versions with sound-effects of Verdun, visions d'histoire, retitled as Verdun, souvenirs d'histoire (1931), Violettes impériales (1932) and Napoléon as Napoléon Bonaparte (1935).

Among the films she made afterwards were Princes de la cravache/Princes of the whip (Marcel L. Wion, 1930), Le roi de Paris/The King of Paris (Léo Mittler, 1930), La folle nuit/The Mad Night (Robert Bibal, 1932) and Aux portes de Paris/At the gates of Paris (Charles Barrois, Jacques de Baroncelli, 1934).

Her final film was L'Appel du Silence/The Call of Silence (Leon Poirier, 1936), based on the life of Charles de Foucauld (Jean Yonnel). Foucauld was a French priest living among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for the protection of the Tuareg and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr.

In 1936, Suzanne Bianchetti died in Paris at the age of 47. Bianchetti was married to writer and actor René Jeanne who served as the director of L'Etablissement Cinématographique des Armées.


French postcard.


French postcard, Spa - Rueil.

Prix Suzanne Bianchetti

A year after her death, Suzanne Bianchetti's husband created an award in her memory to be given annually to the most promising young actress. It was given for the first time in 1937 to Junie Astor for her performance in Club de Femmes.

The award comes in the form of a medallion engraved with Suzanne Bianchetti's image. Since its inception, the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti has been awarded to many of the greatest names in French cinema who went on to national and international success.

Among the winners are Micheline Presle, Simone Signoret, Marina Vlady, Annie Girardot, Pascale Petit, Isabelle Adjani, Isabelle Huppert, Juliette Binoche and Audrey Tatou.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 35. Photo: Wyndham.


French postcard by Editions FILMA, Paris, no. 109. Photo: Wyndham.


French postcard by Editions Filma in the series Les vedettes de l'ecran, no. 109. Photo: Manuel Frères.

Sources: Marlène Pilaete (CinéArtistes - French), Wikipedia and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 17 May 2023.

Violettes impériales (1924)

Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924) was the first of three film versions of the historical adventure of a Spanish flower girl who saves the life of French empress Eugenie. The French silent film featured the popular Spanish diva Raquel Meller.


French postcard by Jean de Merly, Paris. Photo: Raquel Meller in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924).


French postcard. Photo: Raquel Meller and André Roanne in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924).

Overthrown by the anarchist's bomb

Spanish diva Raquel Meller (1888-1962) was already a highly popular singer before debuting as a film actress in 1919.

La Meller performed not only in Spain but also in France and the USA. Songs such as 'La Violetera', 'El Relicario', and 'Flor del Mal' became standards - thanks to her interpretations.

Meller was also a hit on the big screen. She made her film debut in the Spanish film Los arlequines de seda y oro/The Harlequins of Silk and Gold (Ricardo de Baños, 1919).

In France, she also starred in several films. She is best-remembered for Violettes imperiales (Henry Roussel, 1924), a historical romantic drama set during the reign of Napoleon III of France.

Meller plays a Spanish flower girl who saves an attack on the life of the French empress Eugénie de Montijo (played by Suzanne Blanchetti), by taking her place in her carriage. When the carriage is overthrown by the anarchist's bomb, the girl survives because of - yes! - the masses of violets in the imperial carriage, the empress' favourite flowers.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924). Shot on location in Seville, Spain, where the future Empress Eugénie of France (Suzanne Bianchetti) meets the flower girl Violetta (Raquel Meller).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924), starring Raquel Meller as Violetta, the poor flower girl from Seville who becomes the protégée of the Empress Eugénie of France. Sepia version of the black & white card above.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924). Center stands Suzanne Bianchetti as Empress Eugénie, in the back the Chateau de Compiègne, Napoleon III's original residence. The composition recalls Franz-Xaver Winterhalter's famous painting The Empress Eugénie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting (1855, Chateau de Compiègne).

Jeune premier

A summary of the story: At Grenada, in 19th Century Spain, Eugénie de Montijo (Suzanne Blanchetti) asks a gypsy girl, Violetta (Raquel Meller), to read her fortune in her hand.

Emboldened by Violetta's prediction that she is to become a queen, Eugénie heads for Paris, accompanied by her mother and their servant Juan de Ayala (Jimmy O'Kelly). The latter uses his seductive charms to persuade a team of seamstresses to make a grand dress for Eugénie, so that she may attend a ball at the Tuileries, hosted by French Emperor Napoleon III (Daurelly).

Naturally, Eugénie wins the heart of Napoleon III, but in doing so she makes a dangerous enemy in her rival Madame de Pierrefeu (Claude France). Once Eugénie has been installed as empress, Madame de Pierrefeu swears that she will have her revenge...

Meller's film partner in the film was Jeune premier André Roanne (1896-1959). He had a long-standing career in French cinema with more than 90 films.

Henry Roussel was not only the director of Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924) but also the producer and the scriptwriter. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Gys and the cinematography was done by Jules Kruger and Paul Portier.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: André Roanne in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924). Visible in the back is the Chateau de Compiègne, Napoleon III's residence.

An Abrupt Career End

In 1932, Henry Roussel made a sound version of the film, again with Raquel Meller and Suzanne Bianchetti.

In 1952 an operetta version was made of the film based on a stage operetta with music composed by Jacques Météhen and lyrics written by Paul Achard, René Jeanne, and Henri Varna.

This version was without La Meller. Violetta was played by Carmen Sevilla, while the empress was played by Simone Valère. However, in this remake, the male character was enhanced to feature the singing talents of tenor Luis Mariano.

The Spanish Civil War and the Second World War had put an abrupt end to Raquel Meller's career. Raquel Meller had first left for Argentina and later retired in Barcelona.

Some years ago, a tinted copy of the silent version of Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924) was beautifully restored by the BFI. A clip of the film can be seen in Kevin Brownlow's documentary series Cinema Europe (1995), but we are still waiting for a DVD of the film.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: Raquel Meller as Violetta and Suzanne Bianchetti as Empress Eugénie in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: Raquel Meller as Violetta, the poor flower girl from Seville who becomes the protégée of the Empress Eugénie of France in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (1924).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition. Photo: Raquel Meller and André Roanne in Violettes impériales/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924).

Sources: Films de France, Wikipedia (French), and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 14 February 2021.