Miarka (1920 film)
{{Short description|1920 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox film
|name = Miarka
|image =
|caption =
|native_name = {{Infobox name module|fr|Miarka, la fille à l'ourse}}
|director = Louis Mercanton
|producer = Louis Mercanton
|writer = Jean Richepin (novel)
|starring = Ivor Novello
|studio =Mercanton Films
|distributor = Mercanton Films
|released = {{Film date|1920|10|29|df=yes}}
|runtime =
|country = France
|language = Silent
French intertitles
}}
Miarka or Miarka: The Daughter of the Bear (French: Miarka, la fille à l'ourse) is a 1920 French silent drama film directed by Louis Mercanton and starring Ivor Novello.{{cite book|last1=Caughie|first1=John|last2=Rockett|first2=Kevin|title=The Companion to British and Irish Cinema|publisher=Cassell|year=1996|page=120|isbn=0-304-34158-4|url=https://archive.org/details/companiontobriti00caug|url-access=registration}} The film is also known by the alternative title of Gypsy Passion. It was shot on location in the Camargue region.{{cite book|last=Levine|first=Alison|title=Framing the Nation: Documentary Film in Interwar France|publisher=A&C Black|year=2011|page=190|asin=B007CU19WY|isbn=144113963X}} It was based on a novel by Jean Richepin which had previously been made into the libretto for an opera, Miarka, was later turned into a sound film of the same name.
Plot
As described in a film magazine,{{cite journal|title=Reviews: Gypsy Passion|journal=Exhibitors Herald|volume=14|issue=10|page=60|publisher=Exhibitors Herald Company|location=New York City|date=4 March 1922|url=https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsherald14exhi}} Romany Kate, a gypsy, and her granddaughter Miarka (Mazza) live in the abandoned ruins of an old castle and in the shadow of a modern mansion. The owner of the estate is making a study of gypsy life and writing a book on the subject. He has stolen a manuscript from Romany Kate's wagon and is having it translated. Louis, the gamekeeper, seeks Miarka's hand but Romany Kate plans to have her granddaughter marry the head of the gypsy tribe. Ivor (Novello), nephew of their wealthy benefactor, also falls in love with Miarka. Louis accuses Romany Kate of setting a fire to the mansion and she is locked up. He then attempts to drug Miarka, but her pet bear Pouzzli attacks Louis and kills him. As he dies, he confesses that stole from his employer and tried to hide the crime. Ivor is then found to be a chief of a branch of the nomads, and Romany Kate gives her consent to Miarka's marriage.
Cast
- Desdemona Mazza as Miarka
- Jean Mercanton
- Marie Grisier-Montbazon
- Ivor Novello as Ivor
- Paul Numa
- Jean Richepin as Lord
- Gabrielle Réjane as Vougne
- Charles Vanel as Mario, the game warden
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0011457}}
{{Louis Mercanton}}
Category:Films directed by Louis Mercanton
Category:French black-and-white films
Category:Silent French drama films
Category:1920s French-language films
Category:French-language drama films
{{1920s-France-film-stub}}