Erreur du policeman, L' A Simple Mistake(1910) Director: [Theodore Wharton] –
Production: Pathé Frères (American Kinema) –
Lenght: 80m –
Intertitles: English –
Première: 24/09/1910 –
Cast: William (Billy) Quirk (Augustus Slip, il pretendente importuno/Unwanted Suitor), Paul Panzer (O’ Brian, il poliziotto/Officer O’Brien)
The film:
That opposites attract is a particularly attractive belief to filmgoers, but not a universal one. In A Simple Mistake, for instance, the thin Augustus Slip’s passion for Mrs. Hallate and her “ponderous” curves is entirely unrequited. Taking advantage of her husband’s absence, the unwanted suitor turns up at her house equipped with f lowers and an ardent desire for conquest. He is not discouraged by the audience’s laughs or the well-aimed jabs landed by the reluctant virago, who is eventually compelled to request the help of her housemaid’s eager fiancé, Officer O’Brien. As often happens in Pathé comedies, however, despite the best of intentions the alleged forces of law and order turn out to be unstoppable vehicles of degradation.
Produced by Pathé subsidiary American Kinema, the film has an excellent comedy dynamic, cleverly reiterating a crescendo of gags, here set in an interplay of misunderstandings whose sturdy narrative cohesion.
The digital process:
On 1 November 1912 Pathé, one of the world’s biggest film companies, launched its first home cinema system – a parlour projector for a family audience, curiously resembling a Singer sewing machine. Its advertising slogan ran: “KOK: Cinema in your own home! Joy for grown-ups! Happiness for children!”. The 28mm Cinématographe de Salon KOK projector was the first successor to the magic lantern, which had long been popular among the rich bourgeoisie and aristocratic families.
A Simple Mistake was digitized in 2017 through a partnership involving the film archives of Turin, Toulouse, and Limoges, starting with the films from the 28mm collection in Turin. Repair work and scanning in 2K were carried out by the Cinémathèque de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and image-enhancement and finalizing by the Cinémathèque de Toulouse. Our thanks go to the Gaumont Pathé Archives for their help in identifying the films.
