Capellani, Albert

(November 23, 1874, Paris, France - 1931, Paris, France)

   After his studies at the Conservatory, he played onstage, notably working with André Antoine and Firmin Gémier at the Odéon before directing the Théâtre de l'Alhambra. He was hired by Pathé in 1906 and became artistic director of the S.C.A.G.L. (Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres) in 1908. He supervised and advised such directors as Georges Denola, Georges Monca, Michel Carré, and Henri Etiévant. He offered to Mistinguett her first important part on-screen in Les Misérables. From 1915 to 1923, he worked in the USA for various societies (Pathé Exchange, Metro Pictures Corporation, World Film, Cosmopolitan, and Nazimova Productions), helped actress Alla Na-zimova become one of the greatest Hollywood stars of the silent era, and created his own production company, Capellani Productions, Inc. He returned to France in 1923 and vainly tried to concretize projects. Other credits (as author of original story): 1919 The Parisian Tigress (Herbert Blaché; USA); (as film supervisor, producer): 1920 The Love Cheat (George Archainbaud, USA); A Damsel in Distress (George Archainbaud, USA). His brother was actor Paul Capellani (1884-1944).

 Filmography

        ◘ Peau d'Âne / USA: A Princess in Disguise (short; five scenes: "L'Âne merveilleux", "Peau d'Âne fuit son Père", "Le Prince s'éprend d'elle", "La Bague révélatrice", "Fiançailles")

        ◘ Le Chemineau / USA: The Strong Arm of the Law / The Tramp (short)

        ◘ L'Âge du Coeur (short)

        ◘ La Voix de la Conscience / USA: The Voice of Conscience (short)

        ◘ La Loi du Pardon / UK: Law of Pardon / USA: The Law of Pardon (short)

        ◘ Drame passionnel (short)

        ◘ Mortelle Idylle (short)

        ◘ La Fille du Sonneur / USA: The Bell Ringer's Daughter (short)

        ◘ Pauvre Mère / USA: Poor Mother (short)

        ◘ La Femme du Lutteur / USA: The Wrestler's Life (short)

        ◘ Aladin ou la Lampe merveilleuse / USA: Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp (short)

1907

        ◘ Sganarelle (short)

        ◘ La Fille du Bûcheron (short)

        ◘ Cendrillon / Cendrillon ou La Pantoufle merveil­leuse (short)

        ◘ Les Deux Sœurs (short; unconfirmed)

        ◘ Les Apprentissages de Boireau / UK: Jim's Ap­prenticeship (short)

        ◘ La Légende de Polichinelle / La Vie de Polichinelle (short; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Amour d'Esclave / USA: A Slave's Love (short)

        ◘ Not' Fanfare concourt (short)

        ◘ Le Pied de Mouton / USA: The Talisman of Sheep's Foot (ten scenes: "Le Mépris", "Le Talisman", "Le Chant improvisé", "Le Cof­fret enchanté", "Le Chemin des Gifles", "Les Colonnes tournantes", "L'Antre du Sommeil", "La Vengeance du Méchant", "Le Supplice de Tantale", "Apothéose")

1908

        ◘ L'Arlésienne (short; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Béatrice Cenci / Beatrix Cenci / USA: Beatrice

        ◘ Cenci (short)

        ◘ La Belle au Bois dormant / USA: The Sleeping Beauty (co-director with Lucien Nonguet; first part, six scenes: "Palais en Fête", "Naissance", "Baptême", "Prédiction des Fées", "Le Som­meil", "Symphonie du Sommeil"; second part, four scenes: "Cent Ans après", "La Chasse", "Réveil de la Princesse", "Apothéose")

        ◘ Benvenuto Cellini (short)

        ◘ Le Chat botté / USA: Puss in Boots (short; co-director with Edmond Floury)

        ◘ Corso tragique / Les Trois Masques (short)

        ◘ La Dernière Charrette (short)

        ◘ Don Juan (short)

        ◘ Le Foulard merveilleux (short)

        ◘ Fra Diavolo (short)

        ◘ Guillaume Tell (short)

        ◘ Le Lépreux de la Cité d'Aoste (unconfirmed; movie directed by Albert Capellani or André Calmettes)

        ◘ Peau d'Âne / USA: Donkey Skin / Donkey's Skin (co-director with Edmond Floury; special ef­fects by Segundo de Chomon)

        ◘ Le Petit Poucet (short)

        ◘ Riquet à la Houppe (short)

        ◘ Salomé (short)

        ◘ Tarquin le Superbe (short)

        ◘ Le Trouvère (short)

        ◘ La Vestale / USA: The Vestal (short)

1909

        ◘ Aladin (short)

        ◘ La Belle et la Bête / USA: Beauty and the Beast (short)

        ◘ L'Assommoir / USA: Drink (short; also cinematographer)

        ◘ Les Deux Orphelines / USA: The Two Orphans (short)

        ◘ Lleur de Pavé / USA: Her Dramatic Career (short; co-director with Michel Carré)

        ◘ L'Homme aux Gants blancs / USA: A Pair ofWhite Gloves (short; also screenwriter, adapter)

        ◘ Jeanne d'Arc / La Vie de Jeanne d'Arc / USA: Joan of Arc (five-part shorts)

        ◘ Le Roi s'amuse (short)

        ◘ Lucrèce Borgia (short)

        ◘ La Mort de Lincoln / La Fin de Lincoln (short)

        ◘ La Mort du Duc d'Enghien en 1804 / USA: The

        ◘ Death of the Duke d'Enghien (short)

        ◘ La Peau de Chagrin / USA: The Wild Ass's

        ◘ Skin (unconfirmed; movie directed by Albert

        ◘ Capellani or Georges Denola)

        ◘ Le Pied de Mouton (co-director with Edmond

        ◘ Floury; special effects by Segundo de Chomon)

        ◘ La Rançon du Roi (short)

        ◘ Le Roi s'amuse (short; co-director with Michel Carré)

        ◘ Samson (short; unconfirmed; Henri Andréani and Ferdinand Zecca are also mentioned as directors)

        ◘ Tarakanowa et Catherine II / La Princesse Tara-kanowa et Catherine II (short)

        ◘ Le Tyran de Jérusalem (short)

1910

        ◘ L'Autre ou Un Drame en Wagon (short)

        ◘ La Bouteille de Lait (short)

        ◘ Le Coucher d'une Etoile / L'Epouvante / UK: Terror-Stricken (short)

        ◘ Cyrano et dAssoucy (short)

        ◘ L'Echarpe / La Complice (short)

        ◘ L'Evadé des Tuileries ou Une Journée de la Révo­lution / Août 1792 / USA: The Escape from the Tuileries (short)

        ◘ Lâcheuse Méprise (short)

        ◘ La Fiancée du Château maudit / La Mariée du Château maudit (short)

        ◘ Francesca da Rimini / Françoise de Rimini (short)

        ◘ La Haine (short)

        ◘ Hernani (short)

        ◘ Limage / La Mauvaise Intention (short)

        ◘ L'Intrigante / L'Institutrice (short)

        ◘ La Joconde (short)

        ◘ Marie Stuart / USA: Mary Stuart (short)

        ◘ Messaline (short)

        ◘ La Momie / Le Roman de la Momie (short)

        ◘ Le Monstre / La Puissance du Souvenir (short)

        ◘ Paganini (short)

        ◘ Le Portrait / La Vengeance de la Morte (short)

        ◘ Pour l'Honneur / L'Honneur (short)

        ◘ Le Prix de Vertu (short)

        ◘ Le Roman d'un Jour / Péché de Jeunesse (short)

        ◘ Sous la Terreur (short)

        ◘ Le Spoliateur / L'Autre (short)

        ◘ Trahis (short)

        ◘ Un Clair de Lune sous Richelieu (short)

        ◘ Victime de l'Amour / Victime de Sophie (short)

        ◘ Le Voile du Bonheur / USA: Veil of Happiness (short; also producer)

        ◘ Le Vol (short)

        ◘ La Zingara (short)

1911

        ◘ Les Aventures de Cyrano de Bergerac (short)

        ◘ Le Courrier de Lyon / L'Attaque de la Malle-Poste / USA: The Courier of Lyons / The Lyons Mail / The Orleans Coach (two parts; also screenwriter, adapter)

        ◘ La Danseuse de Siva (short)

        ◘ Les Deux Collègues (short)

        ◘ Deux Filles d'Espagne / Deux jeunes Filles se ressemblent / USA: Two Daughters of Havana (short)

        ◘ Les Deux Sœurs / Les Deux Chemins (short)

        ◘ L'Envieuse / Le Vol (short)

        ◘ La Fille des Chiffonniers (co-director with Georges Monca)

        ◘ La Fin de Robespierre (9 Thermidor An II) / USA: The End of Robespierre (short)

        ◘ Gribouille a volé la Joconde (short)

        ◘ J acintha, la Cabaretière / Les Emotions de Jacintha (short)

        ◘ Madame Tallien (short)

        ◘ Le Nabot (short)

        ◘ Notre-Dame de Paris / USA: The Hunchback of

        ◘ Notre Dame (two parts)

        ◘ L'Oiseau s'envole (short)

        ◘ Le Pain des petits Oiseaux (short)

        ◘ Par Respect pour l'Enfant / Par Respect de

        ◘ l'Enfant / Le Sacrifice (short)

        ◘ La Poupée brisée / La Poupée de l'Orpheline (short)

        ◘ Le Rideau noir (short)

        ◘ Rigadin comédien (short)

        ◘ Robert Bruce, Episode des Guerres d'Indépendance écossaise (short)

        ◘ Les Six petits Tambours, Messidor An II, 1794 (short)

        ◘ Tristan et Yseut (short)

        ◘ Un Monsieur qui a un Tic (short)

        ◘ La Vagabonde (short)

        ◘ La Vengeance de Licinius (unconfirmed; movie directed by Albert Capellani or Georges Denola)

        ◘ La Vision de Frère Benoît / Frère Benoît (uncon­firmed; movie directed by Albert Capellani or Michel Carré)

        ◘ Le Visiteur (co-director with René Leprince)

1912

        ◘ Anna Karénine (short)

        ◘ Le Complice / USA: The Accomplice (short)

        ◘ Le Congrès des Balayeurs (short)

        ◘ Les Etapes de l'Amour (short)

        ◘ La Folle de PenMarch (short; unconfirmed; movie directed byAlbert Capellani or Georges Denola)

        ◘ Losette (short; co-director with René Lep-rince)

        ◘ Manon Lescaut (two-part shorts)

        ◘ Marion Delorme (also screenwriter)

        ◘ Les Misérables (four episodes: "Jean Valjean", "Fantine", "Cosette", "Cosette et Marius", ten parts, 100 scenes; also screenwriter, adapter)

        ◘ Le Signalement / USA: The Marked Man (short)

        ◘ La Tour de Nesle / USA: The Tower of Nesle (short)

        ◘ Le Tragique Amour de Mona Lisa (short)

        ◘ Un Amour de la du Barry (short)

1913

        ◘ L'Absent / De Afwezige (short; France / Netherlands)

        ◘ La Bohème (short)

        ◘ Germinal (also screenwriter)

        ◘ La Glu (also screenwriter)

        ◘ La Maison du Baigneur (co-director with Adrien Caillard, Georges Monca)

        ◘ Les Mystères de Paris (four parts; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Le Nabab (three parts)

        ◘ Le Rêve interdit (short)

1914

        ◘ Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge (six parts, sixty scenes, first part: "Le Régime de la Terreur", "Le Club des Frères et Amis", "Dixmer, le Maître Tanneur", L'appât de l'Or", "Le Droit de Passage", "La Nouvelle idole", "L'Auberge du Cheval blanc", "Le Signalement", "La Chasse", "L'Eclosion de l'Amour"; second part: "La Barrière du Roule", "Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge", "La Prison du Temple", "Mar­tyre royale","Pour sauver la Reine","Le Mouch­oir", "Dans les Griffes du Lion", "Le Cœur des Humbles", "Le Complot", "Dans les Ténèbres"; third part:"La Jolie Blanchisseuse", "Le Chien de Garde", "Un Farouche Démocrate", "Un Gou­jat", "L'Âme d'un Soldat", "La Dénonciation", "Les Termites", "L'inlassable Dévouement", "La Lettre anonyme", "Le Baillon"; fourth part: "La Conspiration de L'Oeillet", "Les Derniers Coups de Pioche", "L'Involontaire Complice", "La Méfiance du Rocher", "Le Coup de Vent", "La Trappe libératrice", "Le Flair d'un Chien", "L'Inutile Effort", "La Meute qui gronde", "A la Conciergerie"; fifth part: "Les Epaves de la Tourmente", "Frère et Sœur", "L'Amour plus fort que le Devoir", "La Curée", "Les Incendi­aires", "Suspects!", "L'Ephémère Bonheur", "Le Revenant", "La Vengeance du Mari", "La Maison vide"; sixth part: "Le Sacrifice", "Le Sopo­rifique", "La Dernière Tentative", "La Mort du Chevalier", "Le Tribunal révolutionnaire", "Le Geste qui condamne", "Le Sacrifice de Lorin", "L'Appel suprême", "Le Refuge", "La Fin d'un Martyr"; also screenwriter)

        ◘ L'Eternel Amour / USA: Sweetheart's Child La Belle Limonadière (unconfirmed; movie directed by Albert Capellani or Adrien Caillard)

        ◘ Les Deux Gosses (two episodes)

        ◘ Le Modèle (short)

        ◘ La Princesse Tarakanowa et Catherine II (short)

        ◘ Quatre-Vingt-Treize (co-director with André Antoine)

1915

        ◘ The Face in the Moonlight (USA)

        ◘ The Impostor (USA)

        ◘ The Flesh of an Emerald (USA)

        ◘ Camille (USA)

1916

        ◘ The Feast of Life (USA)

        ◘ La Vie de Bohème / The Bohemian / Mimi (USA)

        ◘ The Dark Silence (USA)

        ◘ The Foolish Virgin (USA)

        ◘ The Common Law (USA)

        ◘ Patrie (short; also screenwriter, adapter)

1917

        ◘ The Easiest Way (also co-screenwriter; USA)

        ◘ Marie Tudor

        ◘ American Maid (USA)

1918

        ◘ Daybreak (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; USA)

        ◘ Social Hypocrites (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; USA)

        ◘ The Richest Girl (USA)

        ◘ The House of Mirth (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; USA)

        ◘ Eye for Eye (co-director with Alla Nazimova; also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; USA)

1919

        ◘ Out of the Fog (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; USA)

        ◘ The Red Lantern (USA)

        ◘ Oh Boy! (also screenwriter, adapter, producer, actor; USA)

        ◘ The Virtuous Model (also screenwriter, adapter, producer; USA)

1920

        ◘ Quatre-Vingt-Treize (two episodes; co-director with André and Léonard Antoine; also screenwriter, adapter)

        ◘ The Fortune Teller (also producer; USA)

1921

        ◘ The Inside of the Cup (also screenwriter; USA)

        ◘ The Wild Goose (USA)

1922

        ◘ Sisters (USA)

        ◘ The Young Diana (co-director with Robert G.

        ◘ Vignola; USA)