The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach
Encyclopedia
The Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach is a 1905
early Dutch
silent film
directed by Willy Mullens
, and produced by Alberts Frères
. A six-minute short comedy film (really a slapstick
), it is one of the oldest surviving Dutch fictional films. When the Netherlands Film Festival
presented its canon of Dutch cinema (containing sixteen monumental films in Dutch film history) in 2007, it included this film.
by Willy and Albert Mullens. Filming was completed in one day, on 22 July 1905 (another source has 21 July). The narrator/explicator of the film was Willy Mullens.
The first major problem arose before the shooting even started: the actor hired to play the gentleman was not allowed to do so by his fiancée, who lived in Zandvoort. As a result, Willy Mullens had to play the part himself. A second problem occurred at the end: the final scene is a chase, during which the pantless gentleman knocks over a few beach chairs, being chased by an extra dressed as a policeman. The real policeman guarding the beach area did not take kindly to the spectacle (naked legs were illegal at the time) and took the entire crew to the local police office to sort matters out.
The story quickly spread in the then small beach resort, and after 24 July the national press started running stories about the moral degeneration in Zandvoort, as if what is depicted in the film had been an actual event—there being little real news to report during the summer months—with headlines containing words like "godless," "anarchist," and "heathen". One newspaper's headline was "Movie causes moral degeneration." The brothers had color posters printed, announcing that the truth would be shown in their movie theater; they used the current title as well as the alternate "Tragic Scene of a French Gentleman at the Zandvoort Beach." The result was, of course, free publicity, even if probably unintended by the film makers.
Other free publicity was generated by including the crowd of spectators in the scene, as the pantless gentleman is being taken away: the Mullens brothers were counting on those spectators wanting to see themselves on film.
The movie, aided by the publicity, quickly became a big hit, and was soon shown also in Zandvoort's "Olympia Circus Theater," to sell-out crowds.
, in which an actor by the name of Tünnes (from the local Schmidt theater), pulling a donkey
by a rope, took off from the local market carrying a suckling pig
under his arm without having paid for it. He proceeded to visit the vegetable stands, and the scene erupts with screaming housemaids, flying baskets and vegetables, and a number of police officers.
1905 in film
The year 1905 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Pathé Frères colors black-and-white films by machine.*Filmmaking takes an unexpected historical role by recording activities along Market Street, in the year preceding the destruction from the San Francisco earthquake of 1906...
early Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
directed by Willy Mullens
Willy Mullens
Willy Mullens was a Dutch producer, director, and promoter of movies. He is considered to be one of the early pioneers of Dutch cinema, and one of his movies was recently elected as one of only sixteen "Canonical Dutch movies." With his brother Bernardus Albertus he started around...
, and produced by Alberts Frères
Alberts Frères
Alberts Frères, founded around 1899, was one of the first film production companies in the Netherlands. The company was founded by brothers Albert and Willy Mullens ; they were the main filmmakers and exhibitors in the Netherlands in the first two decades of the twentieth century.-History:Willy...
. A six-minute short comedy film (really a slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
), it is one of the oldest surviving Dutch fictional films. When the Netherlands Film Festival
Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.During the ten-day festival, all Dutch film productions of the previous year are exhibited. Besides feature films, the program also consists of short subjects, documentary...
presented its canon of Dutch cinema (containing sixteen monumental films in Dutch film history) in 2007, it included this film.
Plot
A bather (played by Willy Mullens, who is lounging in a beach chair is surprised by a sudden onset of water. He quickly pulls his pants off to keep them dry (an early example of what the Dutch call "underpants humor"). A policeman is not appreciative and trouble grows, witnessed by a growing crowd. The bather tries to escape by disguising himself as a woman, and flees across the village but is eventually caught by the collar. A crowd of people and a musical band accompany his arrest.Production
The film was shot on location in ZandvoortZandvoort
Zandvoort is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.Zandvoort is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach, bordered by coastal dunes...
by Willy and Albert Mullens. Filming was completed in one day, on 22 July 1905 (another source has 21 July). The narrator/explicator of the film was Willy Mullens.
The first major problem arose before the shooting even started: the actor hired to play the gentleman was not allowed to do so by his fiancée, who lived in Zandvoort. As a result, Willy Mullens had to play the part himself. A second problem occurred at the end: the final scene is a chase, during which the pantless gentleman knocks over a few beach chairs, being chased by an extra dressed as a policeman. The real policeman guarding the beach area did not take kindly to the spectacle (naked legs were illegal at the time) and took the entire crew to the local police office to sort matters out.
The story quickly spread in the then small beach resort, and after 24 July the national press started running stories about the moral degeneration in Zandvoort, as if what is depicted in the film had been an actual event—there being little real news to report during the summer months—with headlines containing words like "godless," "anarchist," and "heathen". One newspaper's headline was "Movie causes moral degeneration." The brothers had color posters printed, announcing that the truth would be shown in their movie theater; they used the current title as well as the alternate "Tragic Scene of a French Gentleman at the Zandvoort Beach." The result was, of course, free publicity, even if probably unintended by the film makers.
Other free publicity was generated by including the crowd of spectators in the scene, as the pantless gentleman is being taken away: the Mullens brothers were counting on those spectators wanting to see themselves on film.
The movie, aided by the publicity, quickly became a big hit, and was soon shown also in Zandvoort's "Olympia Circus Theater," to sell-out crowds.
Related works
The Misadventure of a French Gentleman was not the last movie made by Alberts Frères to generate headlines. On Friday, 13 September 1907, they had filmed a practical joke in MaastrichtMaastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, in which an actor by the name of Tünnes (from the local Schmidt theater), pulling a donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
by a rope, took off from the local market carrying a suckling pig
Suckling pig
A suckling pig is a piglet fed on its mother's milk . In culinary, a suckling pig is slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. It is traditionally cooked whole, often roasted, in various cuisines...
under his arm without having paid for it. He proceeded to visit the vegetable stands, and the scene erupts with screaming housemaids, flying baskets and vegetables, and a number of police officers.