The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris (1915) on Netflix
NR19157h 1m
In Paris, reporter Philippe Guérande investigates the Vampires, a criminal gang the police cannot stop. His friend Mazamette joins him, and the gang's accomplice Irma Vep works against them.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.3/105,915 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes95%
Trailer
Plot summary
A gang of criminals known as the Vampires spreads terror through Paris, and the police have found no way to stop them. Philippe Guérande, a reporter for the newspaper Mondial, gathers clues and receives anonymous notes written in a feminine hand. When the headless body of Inspector Durtal turns up in the swamps near Saint-Clement-Sur-Cher, Philippe asks to be sent to the scene. He passes the night at a castle belonging to Dr. Nox, a man his father knew, with Mrs. Simpson, an American woman of wealth who plans to buy it. A warning note appears in his pocket, a passage hides behind a painting in his room, and Mrs. Simpson is robbed of her jewels while Philippe is blamed. The gang's accomplice Irma Vep sings at a nightclub in the slums.
Cast
- Rita Herloras Mrs. Margaret Simpson
- Florense Simonias Madame Guérande
- Fernand Herrmannas Juan José Moréno
- Paula Maxaas Hypnotized Woman / Fleur-de-Lys
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris (1915)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The police condemned Les Vampires for its apparent glorification of crime and dubious morality, and some episodes were temporarily banned until Musidora personally appealed and the bans were retracted.
- Louis Feuillade wrote the Les Vampires script himself but kept it very simple, usually writing only the premise and relying on the actors to fill in the details, with later episodes more scripted.
- Les Vampires was shot inexpensively: painted flats served as doors, furniture was re-used across sets, and elaborate shots such as a ferry exploding in "The Thunder Master" relied on stock footage.
- Because Feuillade scripted so little, many scenes were improvised on the days of shooting, and Musidora, a former acrobat, performed all of her own stunts.
- The serial used tinting to signal lighting: amber for daylight interiors, green for daylight exteriors, blue for night and dark scenes, and lavender for low-lit areas such as nightclubs or dawn.
- The Vampires gang was possibly inspired by the Bonnot Gang, a highly advanced anarchist group who went on a high-profile crime spree in Paris during 1911–1912.
- Les Vampires is credited with establishing the crime-thriller genre, creating cinematic techniques later used by Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang.
- The serial was adapted into Chinese cinema as the film Beautiful Skeleton, which also blends aspects of the wuxia genre.
