Zigomar (film)

Zigomar (French: Zigomar, roi des voleurs), also known as Zigomar, King of Thieves and The Phantom Bandit, is a 1911 French crime drama silent film directed by Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset and produced by Éclair. It was the first movie made by Jasset which used the character of Zigomar (who was originally created by the author Léon Sazie in 1909). The film was an adaptation of a serial of the same name from the French newspaper Le Matin. The film follows Paulin Broquet, the chief of police, as he tries to apprehend his crime lord nemesis, the titular Zigomar. The cast consists of Alexandre C. Arquillière as Zigomar and André Liabel as Paulin Broquet.^[3] The film was released as four reels titled The Great Train Robbery, The Leap for Life, The Alpine Death Struggle, and The Moulin Rouge Fire,^[4] and was followed up with Zigomar Against Nick Carter in 1912.

At the start of the film, Paulin Broquet is going over police documents in his office while a servant cleans nearby. He leaves for a moment, and when he returns he finds that the documents have been replaced by a “thank you” card from Zigomar. The servant is gone too, as he was the thief in disguise.

Zigomar buys flowers for a woman nicknamed Riri, to whom he delivers them while disguised as an old man. She resents the attention, however, and Zigomar leaves her. Broquet arrives on the scene just in time to find a card dropped by Zigomar with directions for his Z Gang to meet him within a church. Intending on being present for the meeting, Broquet disguises himself as a knight in a crypt inside the church. When Zigomar and his gang arrive, they move a block which reveals a stairway under the building. They head down and Broquet sees they have been keeping Riri down there. Before he can head down the stairs, he is captured and loaded on an outbound wagon that carries him off. The wagon is stopped by police, however, and Broquet is able to escape. The wagon driver attempts to flee as well, but is caught by the detective. He tells Broquet something which helps him track Zigomar down again.^[5]

Next, Zigomar attends a performance by the dancer Madame Sezes at Moulin Rouge to steal her $100,000 pearl necklace, and Broquet follows the criminal there. During the show, Zigomar sets fire to the venue as a diversion, but is captured by Broquet before he can take the pearls from the dying dancer. Zigomar, however, had a getaway planned, and slips away once again. As he slips away, the police arrive, and Riri is saved.^[6]

• Alexandre C. Arquillière (Zigomar)
• André Liabel (Paulin Broquet)
• Camille Bardou
• Paul Guidé
• Gilbert Dalleu
• Bataille^[7]
• Jacques Faure^[8]
• Esmée (Madame Sezes)^[9]

Léon Sazie, believing that film would revitalize interest in the theatre,^[10] he granted the film rights for the Zigomar serial to Éclair. He wrote the script and picked out several of the cast members.^[7] It was filmed at Epinay Studios in France.

Although the film was officially released on 14 September 1911 in Paris, France, there was a private showing in Moscow on 14 August of the same year.^[11] A month after the official release, it was released in the provincial cities, and later had releases in other languages and countries.

Around November 1911, E. Mandelbaum struck a deal with Éclair which gave his then newly incorporated business, the Feature and Education Film Company, the rights to the film in America.^[12] In the same month, the film was shown in Tokyo, Japan for the first time.^[13]

On 25 October, 1911, the film premiered for the first time in New Zealand at the Colosseum Theatre.^[14]

By 11 November, 1911, the film had premiered at the Ideal Theatre in Manila, Philippines under the Spanish title La Z mysteriosa.^[15]

It premiered at the Theatre of Prince Alfonso^[16] in Madrid, Spain on 14 December, 1911 as Zigomar, rey de los ladrones.^[17] In 1912, Teatre Salón Cervantes began what would become recurring events in which children would be able to watch a screening of Zigomar at which they would be given toys and valuables, in addition to being able to participate in a raffle.^[18]

The Cairo Bulletin said “‘Zigomar’ is one of the most remarkable criminal story ever told, bristling with sensational episodes, teeming with spectacular incidents and tense situations,”^[19] and that it was “the most magnificent, mystifying, and marvelous master-piece of motion pictures ever shown in Cairo.”^[6]

On 28 October 1911, Le Phare d'Alexandrie reported that 500 people had to be turned away from theaters every day for five days during its first run at the Chantecler.^[20]

• ""Paul Guidé IMBd credits"".