Original subtitles

Gaumont and the Centre National du Cinéma et de I'image animée,

in collaboration with the Cinématheque francaise, present

Directed by

(original release May 1913)

Based on the Novel by Mr. Pierre Souvestre and Mr. Marcel Allain

Set Design Mr. Robert-Jules Garnier

Photography and Editing Mr. Georges Guérin

Fantomas / Gurn Mr. René Navarre

Inspector Juve Mr. Edmond Bréon

Valgrand, the Actor Mr. André Volbert

Dresser Mr. Henri Maillard

Nibet, the Guard Mr. Naudier

and

Lady Beltham Miss Renée Carl

Princess Sonia Danidoff Miss Jane Faber of the Comédie-Francaise

Part One THEFT AT THE ROYAL PALACE HOTEL

One o'clock in the morning.

Princess Sonia Danidoff returns to her hotel.

“The envelope is ready.

Would Your Highness care to verify the 120,000 francs are all there?”

Terrified, the Princess raises the alarm.

“Pll run to fetch the police!”

Shortly thereafter, Princess Danidoff receives a visit from the inspector.

INSPECTOR JUVE NATIONAL POLICE

Part Two THE DISAPPEARANCE OF LORD BELTHAM

In Inspector Juve's office,

he and his friend Jéréme Fandor, a reporter for The Capital,

read about the latest crimes.

“The Royal Palace Hotel affair, the disappearance of Lord Beltham...

The public is troubled by this wave of unsolved crimes.”

A knock at the door.

NATIONAL POLICE

Inspector Juve is assigned to locate Lord Beltham,

now mysteriously missing for over a week.

Foul play is suspected.

Chief of National Police

Inspector Juve goes to Lady Beltham's villa.

Meanwhile, the missing man's wife drinks in the words of a certain Gurn,

enthralled by his brooding charm.

The public is alarmed at recent events: First, the Royal Palace Hotel theft

and now, the mysterious disappearance of wealthy Englishman Lord Beltham.

After 10 days, Lady Beltham's searches remain fruitless.

Every citizen must ask: What are the police doing?

When questioned, police officials seem to have been struck dumb.

Shall Paris become a place where honest folk fear to walk the streets?

Inspector Juve National Police

Peculiarly excited, Gurn agrees to remain hidden in an adjoining room

from which he can eavesdrop.

“Did Lord Beltham leave any clues?

An address book, perhaps?”

“Do you know this Gurn, Madame?”

~ Tothe Director of the South Steamship Co.

Please pick up three trunks from my home at 147, rue Bevert, 20th arrondissement

to be sent to Johannesburg, where I shall have them collected.

The concierge will unlock my apartment for you. Gurn.

Juve decides to visit Gurn at the address he's found...

Please pick up three trunks from my home at 147, rue Bevert, 20th arrondissement

to be sent to Johannesburg, where I shall have them collected.

“A corpse!”

Blank calling cards.

And so, Gurn and Fantomas

For months, Juve and Fandor keep constant watch over Lady Beltham's villa.

The next day, the headline of the Gaulois.

THE TURBULENT ARREST OF GURN

A MAN SOUGHT BY THE POLICE FOR MONTHS

Part Three ALONGSIDE THE GUILLOTINE

Ever since Gurn has been sentenced to death,

a car stops each night outside the prison.

Lady Beltham finally makes contact with a certain Nibet, prison guard.

Nibet tells his colleague about the deal he's made with the lovely schemer.

Be brave! Lady Beltham

On Gurn's orders, Nibet goes to Lady Beltham's villa.

I hereby receive the sum of 100,000 francs

in exchange for arranging a 15-minute meeting

between Lady Beltham and the condemned man, Gurn,

at a house near the prison. March 12, 1912

Meanwhile, Paris is entertained by what once made it tremble.

Valgrand, on the stage of the Grand Tréteau,

prepares to play the condemned man.

For the Grand Tréteau's new production, The Bloody Stain,

Valgrand has modeled his performance after Gurn, Lord Beltham's murderer.

On the day before Gurn's execution, this is a sinister coincidence.

Lady Beltham, from far back in a box, is struck, more than any other,

by the actor's resemblance to his model.

The premiere of The Bloody Stain draws to a close

and the audience admires Valgrand's performance

of the condemned man's last morning.

Sir, Your performance touched the very depths of my heart.

Allow me to congratulate you.

I have a request which I hope will not seem too strange...

After the show, would you join me for tea

in my apartment on Boulevard Arago?

Naturally, for this secret visit,

my dearest wish would be for you to keep on the costume and makeup

which, as you've guessed,

make you resemble the darkest despair of my soul.

Lady Beltham 74, boulevard Arago

P.S. Enter through the garden.

Tomorrow morning, the infamous murderer Gurn will be executed.

All remember the trial, followed nationwide,

in which the cynical criminal aroused public indignation with his anarchic retorts.

Tomorrow before dawn,

it is with relief that the awaiting crowd shall witness dropping into the basket

a head possessed by criminal guile rather than philosophy, art and science.

As he walks, Valgrand passes by the prison.

Meanwhile, Nibet and his accomplice,

bribed by Lady Beltham,

remove Gurn from his cell.

In a rented apartment on Boulevard Arago,

Lady Beltham anxiously awaits the one to whom she was bound

by love and murder.

“Did you fix the sugar?”

The doorbell rings.

As the narcotic takes effect,

Valgrand is overcome by an irresistible drowsiness.

The fifteen minutes have passed,

and the guards return to fetch their prisoner.

“Hear that hammering?

They're erecting the guillotine for Valgrand!”

Deceived, Nibet and his accomplice return to the prison with the fake Gurn.

Dawn approaches

and Gurn forces Lady Beltham

to watch the executioner's final preparations.

In the prison, Juve, Fandor and the officials await the condemned man.

The grim procession arrives at last.

“Even with all your tricks, you can't escape me forever, Fantomas!”

Back at Juve's office,

the two friends swear to bring the criminal to justice.

The young reporter writes an item for The Capital.

An astonishing occurrence at the prison this morning:

As the executioner began to remove the condemned man's collar,

mere instants before his execution,

we realized that the man about to be decapitated

was not the condemned man.

By what machination was the actor Valgrand substituted for Gurn?

An investigation will perhaps reveal the truth.

In the meantime, Fantomas is still alive.

And he iis at liberty!

Fantémas is at liberty... Juve's worst nightmare!

THE END

This film was restored in 2013 by Gaumont

with the help of the Centre National du Cinéma et de I'image animée

as part of a program for the restoration and digitization of our film heritage,

and in collaboration with the Cinémathéque francaise.

Frames were scanned in 4K from the original nitrate negative,

the internegative and two prints for any missing shots.

The intertitles were reconstructed based on texts intended for theater owners

that were published in 1913 and 1914 by Gaumont.