Les Vampires - Episode 3 - The Red Codebook - 1915

Country: France
Language: French
Director: Louis Feuillade
Writer: Louis Feuillade
Stars: Musidora, Édouard Mathé and Marcel Lévesque
Credited cast: Musidora ... Irma Vep; Édouard Mathé ... Philippe Guérande; Marcel Lévesque ... Oscar Mazamette; Jean Aymé ... Le Grand Vampire; Fernand Herrmann ... Juan-José Moréno / Brichonnet; Stacia Napierkowska ... Marfa Koutiloff
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: Renée Carl ... L'Andalouse; Suzanne Delvé ... Fleur-de-Lys; Georgette Faraboni .. Danseuse vampire; Jacques Feyder ... (episode V: L'évasion du mort); Fridolin; Rita Herlor ... Mrs Simpson; Émile Keppens ... Géo Baldwin; Louise Lagrange ... Jeanne Guérande; Suzanne Le Bret ... Hortense - servante d'Irma
Release Date: 13 November 1915 (France)
Also known as: Die Vampire (Germany); Los vampiros (Spain); Los vampiros o los archicriminales de París (Mexico); Os Vampiros (Portugal);. The Vampires (USA- literal English title); Vámpírok (Hungary); Wampiry (Poland).
Official sites: Gaumont [France]
Filming Locations: Paris, France
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Runtime: USA: 399 min (DVD)
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Trivia: Musidora was an acrobat who did all her own stunts for this film.
Including among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider.
Goofs: Character error: In episode 8, when it is announced that the champagne is poisoned, Phillipe can be seen drinking the champagne well after the warning.
Continuity: The same furniture appears in the different houses throughout the film.
Revealing mistakes: Throughout various episodes, the same flats were clearly reused for interiors. Many of the same buildings will have the exact same wall paper and wainscoting.
Quotes: Le Grand Vampire: At midnight, the prisoner will be interrogated by the Grand Inquisitor of the Vampires. At dawn he will be executed in the presence of the Black Committee.
Le Grand Vampire: The Grand Vampire
Plot keywords: Criminal; Repórter; Secret; Ladder; Manhole; Dead Man; Photograph; Being Followed; Film Fan; Expelled From School; Captive; Going Straight; Signature; Following Someone; Doctor; Rooftop; Jewelry; Hypnotist; Poisoned Drink; Pursuit On Top Of Train; Scientist; Surveillance; Hypnosis; Movie Theatre; Fake Suicide; Pen; Poison; Ballet; Safe; Apache Dance; Servant; Ballerina; Noose; Cigarette Smoking; Gang; Railroad Track; Bloody Nose; Asphyxiation; Rock; Apartment; Cigarette Case; Maid; Gendarme; Presumed Dead; Poison Ink; Singing; Hiding Behind Curtains; Eating Non Food; Disguised As Undertaker; New Job; Chemist; Eavesdropping; Corpse; Cross Dressing; Criminal Gang; Ink Pen; Millionaire; Bicycle; Posing As Count; Mother Son Relationship; Telegram; Singer; Woman In Trunk; Playing Card; Bomb In Hat; Impersonating A Police Officer; Dancing; Code; Panic; Ear To The Ground; Morgue; Secret Code; Sinking Ship; Lie; Knockout Gas; Policeman; Door Bell; Wine; Bomb; Thrown From Train; Key; Suicide By Poison; Bat Costume; Champagne; Disguised As Maid; Secret Passageway; Bust; Stage; Superstition; Heiress; Stabbed In The Hand; Celebration; Concealing Something In One's Ear; Dead Bull; Headless Corpse; Dead Body; Paralysis; Escape; Split Screen; Car; Cannon; Prisoner; Sleeping; Time Bomb; Horse Riding; Single Parent; Stolen Jewelry; 10 Chapters; Sabotage; Thief; Marriage Proposal; Bandaged Nose; Costumer; Deaf Mute; Theft; Father Son Relationship; Lady's Fan; Dancing On Table; Exercise; Night Time; Little Boy; American; Paris France; Fiancé; Anagram; Engagement Ring; Wedding; Ink; Pretending To Be Sick; Gag; Caught In The Act; Letter; Killer; Episodic Structure; Missing Husband; Car Chase; Wicker Basket; Infamy; Escape From Prison; Dead Body In Safe; Disaster; Fame; Calling Card; Trapped; Binoculars; Ship; Climbing; Pretending To Be Dead; Nightclub; Trap; Engagement Party; Dancer; Shot To Death; Bull; Telephone; Curse; Poison Ring; Suicide; Spaniard; Organized Crime; Castle; Wagging One's Finger; Signal; Evil Scientist; Fake Beard; Held At Gunpoint; Entering Through Chimney; Waking Up; Bound And Gagged; Bank; Pulled From Height; Caterer; Secret Passage; Hypnotic Trance; Gas Pumped Through Keyhole; Newspaper; Giving A Toast; Costume; Movie Fan; Engagement Dinner; Split Screen; Telephone Call; Disguise; Chase; Climbing Up Wall; Card Playing; Fiancé Fiancée Relationship; Party; Framed Picture; Gunfire; Banker; Boy; Shot With A Gun; Dead Woman; Keyhole; Fanning Oneself; Killing A Bull; Looking Through Keyhole; Shot In The Nose; Exiting Through Chimney; Cult Favorite; Telephone Call; Address Book; Caricature; Trail Of Oil; Train; Horse; Film Within A Film; Assaulting An Officer; Sword; Pair Of Gloves; Automobile; Exploding Ship; Trapdoor; Secret Panel; Written Confession; Secret Panel Behind Picture; Code Book; Pretending To Be Poisoned; Secret Identity; Bank Note; Revenge; Husband Wife Relationship; Death Of Husband; Clairvoyant; Gun; Rope Ladder; Sleeping Gas; Jewel Robbery; Sudden Wealth; Medium; Jumping Onto Train; Flashback; Deaf; Murderer; Cryptography; Newspaper Reporter; Disguised As A Boy; Driver; Peep Hole; Theatre; Kidnapping; Mourning One's Husband; Serial; Sound Recording; Ambush; Comic Relief; Identity Theft; Dance; Confession; Mass Murder; Police Officer; Hiding Behind Tree; Murder; Restaurant; Mansion; Rag Picker; Prison; Kidnapper; Pulled By The Ear; Trapped In Room; Death By Poison; Taxi; Mistaken Identity; Mask; Saving Someone's Life; Poisoned Wine; Widow; Curtain; Drawing; Glove; Easel; Threat; Car Horn; Traitor; Interview; Judge; Secret Organization; Stage Performance; Stealing; Secretly Observing; Killing; Ring; Jewel; Count; Morning; Map; Severed Head; Fugitive.
Genres: Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller
Chapters: # Title Released Runtime Events
1 The Severed Head
La tête coupée 13 November 1915 33 mins. Journalist Phillipe Guèrande and his friend Mazamette investigate a mysterious criminal organisation calling themselves Les Vampires. A police inspector is beheaded, and Phillipe spend the night in Dr. Nox's mysterious castle, full of secret passageways. The leader of the gang, the "Great Vampire", is unmasked, but manages to escape.
2 The Killer Ring / The Ring That Kills
La bague qui tue 13 November 1915 15 mins. Marta Koutiloff performs on stage as a vampire bat and tells Phillipe that she will reveal the Vampires' secrets, but is killed by a poisoned ring.
3 The Red Codebook
Le cryptogramme rouge 4 December 1915 42 mins. Phillipe learns to decode the Vampires' messages, while cabaret singer and Vampire strategist Irma Vep enters the Guèrande house disguised as a maid, and Phillipe's mother is kidnapped.
4 The Spectre
Le spectre 7 January 1916 32 mins. The Vampires fight another criminal, Moreno, who tries to steal their loot, but Guerande engineers Moreno's arrest.
5 Dead Man's Escape
L'évasion du mort 28 January 1916 37 mins. Moreno fakes his death and escapes from prison. Phillipe is taken prisoner by the "Vampires", but escapes as well. The Great Vampire organizes a ball to steal his guest's valuables, but is outwitted by Moreno.
6 Hypnotic Eyes / The Hypnotic Gaze
Les yeux qui fascinent 24 March 1916 58 mins. The Vampires seek a treasure in the Forest of Fontainebleau. Moreno hypnotizes Irma Vep into murdering the "Great Vampire", and takes over the gang.
7 Satanas
Satanas 15 April 1916 46 mins. The Lord of the Vampires, Satanas, reveals his existence. He kills Moreno by bombarding the restaurant where he was eating and tries to steal the fortune of American millionaire George Baldwin, but is thwarted by Phillipe and Mazamette.
8 The Thunder Master
Le maître de la foudre 12 May 1916 55 mins. Irma Vep is captured by the police, but Satanas arranges her escape; however he, too, is caught. He commits suicide in his cell.
9 The Poisoner
L'homme des poisons 2 June 1916 53 mins. The new "Lord of the Vampires," Venomous, is introduced. He tries to poison Guérande, but his plot fails.
10 The Terrible Wedding
Les noces sanglantes 30 June 1916 60 mins. Guerande finally marries Jeanne. The Vampires plot against the couple, but are thwarted by Mazamette. All of the Vampires are killed or captured.