The Dreyfus Affair (film series)
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Nine installments of the series
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| Directed by | Georges Méliès |
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September 1899 |
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| Country | France |
| Language | Silent |
The Dreyfus Affair (French: L'affaire Dreyfus), also known as Dreyfus Court-Martial, is an 1899 series of short silent docudramas, conceived and directed by Georges Méliès. Released by Méliès's Star Film Company and numbered 206–217 in its catalogs, each of the eleven one-minute installments reconstructs an event from the historical Dreyfus affair, which was still in progress while the series was being made.
The eleven installments of the series follow the events of the Dreyfus affair from 1894 through September 1899, the month of the series's release. The following is a summary of the series's overarching storyline. For information on the individual installments, see the Installments section below.
In 1894, Armand du Paty de Clam suspects the French military captain Alfred Dreyfus of being a spy for Germany. Paty de Clam demands a sample of Dreyfus's handwriting, to see if it matches the writing on the Bordereau (an anonymous letter to the German Embassy that has been discovered by French counterintelligence). Finding that Dreyfus seems nervous, Paty de Clam accuses him outright of having written the Bordereau, and offers a gun so that Dreyfus can commit suicide on the spot. Dreyfus protests that he is innocent, and is arrested. At the École Militaire, Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and honors, and he is sent to be clapped in irons in prison on Devil's Island.
Four years later, Colonel Hubert-Joseph Henry, who had accused Dreyfus publicly, is arrested (he has admitted to having forged the Faux Henry, a false document designed to act as evidence against Dreyfus). Henry commits suicide in Cherche-Midi prison. The next year, in 1899, Dreyfus is transferred from Devil's Island via Quiberon to Rennes, where he will be tried by court-martial now that further evidence has surfaced. His defense attorneys Fernand Labori and Edgar Demange visit him, as does his wife Lucie. Later, when walking with Georges Picquart, Labori is struck down by a bullet. Labori survives, but the shooter escapes.
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