Louis Mercanton

Louis Samuel Eugène Mercanton (born May 4, 1879 in Nyon , Switzerland , † April 29, 1932 in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France ) was a Swiss-French actor , film director , screenwriter and film producer .

Live and act

Not too much is known about Mercanton's origins and life. He came from Nyon on Lake Geneva , in the extreme south-western corner of Switzerland. The French-Swiss grew up in England and began his artistic career in 1904 as a theater actor in South Africa . Six years later he came across film - at first only as a screenwriter ( Shylock, le marchand de Venise , 1910) - and began several historical material and , with his French colleague Henri Desfontaines (1876–1931), who were already very experienced in film, which were very expensive and expansive for the time To stage literary adaptations such as L'Assassinat d'Henri III (The Murder of Henry III.) And La Dame aux camélias (The Lady of the Camellias). With the large-scale production Queen Elisabeth of England , for which the directing duo was able to win the celebrated stage interpreter Sarah Bernhardt , Mercanton and Desfontaines also achieved an overwhelming success outside of France.

Thereupon the directing duo banned the literary material Adrienne Lecouvreur on the screen in the same year (1912) , also with Bernhardt in the title role. During the First World War , Mercanton directed several films in collaboration with René Hervil . In 1917, Mercanton staged the hateful, anti-German propaganda material “ Les mères françaises ”, again with Bernhardt in the lead role. In Bernhardt's last (unfinished) cinema work, “ La voyante ”, Louis Mercanton was the artistic director. The other films of the later naturalized French are rather insignificant, although he was able to achieve a considerable audience success in 1930 with the early sound film "Le mystère de la Villa Rose". Subsequently (1930/31) Mercanton went to London for several film projects. Shortly before his 53rd birthday, Louis Mercanton died while filming the film “ Passionément ”.

Filmography (small selection)

as a director or co-director unless otherwise specified

• 1911: L'Assassinat d'Henri III
• 1912: La Dame aux camélias
• 1912: Queen Elizabeth of England ( La rein Elisabeth )
• 1913: Adrienne Lecouvreur
• 1913: Anne de Boleyn
• 1914: Vendetta (also screenplay)
• 1914: La Remplaçante
• 1915: Sadounah
• 1915: Jeanne Doré
• 1915: La petite de sixième
• 1916: Le tournant (also screenplay)
• 1916: Suzanne (also screenplay)
• 1916: Manuella (also screenplay)
• 1917: Le tablier blanc (also screenplay)
• 1917: Midinettes (also screenplay)
• 1917: Les mères françaises
• 1917: Un roman d'amour et d'aventures
• 1918: bouclette
• 1918: Le torrent
• 1919: L'appel du sang (also production and screenplay)
• 1920: Miarka, la fille à l'ours (also production)
• 1920: Gosse de riche (also screenplay)
• 1922: Phroso
• 1923: Aux jardin de Murcie (also screenplay)
• 1923: La voyante (unfinished, only artistic direction)
• 1924: The Outcasts ( Les deux gosses ) (also screenplay)
• 1925: Monte-Carlo
• 1926: The Chamber Kitten ( La petite bonne du Palace ) (also actor and screenplay)
• 1927: Croquette (also screenplay)
• 1929: Venus (also production)
• 1929: La lettre
• 1930: Le mystère de la Villa Rose
• 1930: The Nipper
• 1931: These Charming People
• 1931: Man of Mayfair
• 1931: Marion-nous
• 1932: La femme-poisson (also actor and screenplay)
• 1932: Il est charming, cognasse
• 1932: Passionément

literature

• Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 5: L - N. Rudolf Lettinger - Lloyd Nolan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 400.
• Michael Gautier: Mercanton, Louis. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Web links

• Louis Mercanton in the Internet Movie Database (English)