TAÔ
Sog.: Arnould Galopin; Scen.: Gaston Ravel; F.: Albert Cohendy, Georges Laffont, Willy Faktorovitch; M.: Jean-Louis Bouquet; Scgf.: Tony Lekain; Int.: Mary Harald (Soun), Andrée Brabant (Raymonde de Sermaize), Joe Hamman (Taô, il genio del male), Gaston Norès (Jacques Chauvry), Tony Lekain (il barone Markias), Paul Hubert (M. de Sermaize), André Deed (Bilboquet), Mlle Aïcha (Clair de lune), Pierre de Canolle (Grégor); Prod.: Louis Nalpas per Société des Cinéromans 35mm. L.: 6953 m. D.: 338’ a 18 f/s. 1° ep.: Le secret du bronze. L.: 1176 m. D.: 56’; 2° ep.: Une trame subtile. L.: 636 m. D.: 31’; 3° ep.: Sous le masque. L.: 861 m. D.: 42’; 4° ep.: Histoire d’un vol. L.: 604 m. D.: 30’; 5° ep.: L’étau se resserre. L.: 589 m. D.: 29’; 6° ep.: Les mésaventures de Bilboquet. L.: 505 m. D.: 25’; 7° ep.: De Paris à Dakar. L.: 615 m. D.: 30’; 8° ep.: Haines et amours. L.: 590 m. D.: 30’; 9° ep.: Le mariage de Raymond. L.: 573 m. D.: 28’; 10° ep.: Dans l’ombre du temple. L.: 808 m. D.: 40. Bn.
Film Notes
The film reveals a story full of dramatic turns of events in which André Deed introduces the comic dimension both as a direct participation to the scheme and as almost autonomous elements, a sort of comical asides inserted in the main thread of the plot. Bilboquet, right hand man of de Sermaize the banker, defends the interests of the boss and his daughter Raymonde. Bilboquet becomes a comedy duo with Clair de lune, the banker’s black maid. De Sermaize is assassinated on a train during the third episode; from that moment Bilboquet’s role next to Raymonde grows. In actual fact, even though he is not very present in the first four episodes, his role extends from the fifth and, in the fight between the goodies and the baddies, in the end it is he who defeats Taô with a rifle shot.
Jean A. Gili