After 1925, the simple realist film nearly disappeared from French cinema programs. Adaptations of 19th-cen­tury fiction continued to be made, of course, but now they assumed a dif­ferent form… Several films, however, despite their conception as large scale productions, attempted to maintain some degree of simplicity and some at­tention to either natural landscapes or bourgeois and proletarian or peasant milieux. The most prestigious of these was Cinéromans’ big film for the 1925-1926 season, Henri Fescourt’s adapta­tion of Les Misérables.

Initially, Cinéromans wanted to re­duce Victor Hugo’s novel to a single film like the rest of its Films de France series. But Fescourt, who had been assigned to direct it, fought determinedly to win ac­ceptance of his own adaptation “in four parts, each of which would correspond to a complete film.” …Fescourt was also allowed complete freedom in choosing his large cast. The only difficulty arose when he selected a rather unknown ac­tor, Gabriel Gabrio, for the leading role. However, Gabrio proved to be an “ex­cellent peasant at heart,” wrote Fescourt, “he was Jean Valjean, Jean Valjean com­pletely. …Victor Hugo would have been pleased.” Finally, Cinéromans budgeted the project at the considerable sum of six million francs, which allowed Fescourt to shoot much of the film on location. Four months into the shooting, however, the sudden bankruptcy of the German company, Westi, led to a serious curtail­ment in finances. In order to finish the film, Cinéromans frantically cut corners everywhere, which is why, according to Fescourt, certain sequences in the last two parts seem sketchy. “Authentic town cen­ters, authentic streets were to have served as a frame for the riot scenes: we recre­ated them in the studio. …That is the reason for the inequalities in the film.” Most audiences did not seem to mind, for its success, which was worldwide, exceeded all expectations; and it won a 1926 Gold Medal from “Cinémaga­zine” ’ s Amis du Cinéma.

Richard Abel, French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1984