The Phantom Baron

The Phantom Baron (French: Le Baron fantôme) is a 1943 French drama film directed by Serge de Poligny and starring Odette Joyeux, Jany Holt, and Alain Cuny.^[1][2] It was made during the German occupation of France, and it was an example of the fantastique genre in film which was among those less likely to face difficulties with the censorship of the time.^[3]

In 1826 the Countess of Saint-Hélié arrives from Paris, with her daughter Elfy and her adopted daughter Anne, at an old castle in south-west France where she intends to live with her uncle, the aged Baron Carol. His servant Toussaint tells her that the Baron has mysteriously disappeared and is a "ghost"; the countess moves into the habitable part of the house anyway. Ten years later Baron Carol has never returned, and Elfy and Anne have grown into beautiful young women. Hervé, Toussaint's nephew, who has been their childhood playmate, now lives in the game-keeper's house.

The countess wants to marry her daughter to Albéric de Marignac, a young cavalry officer, but Elfy has no dowry and his colonel opposes their marriage. Albéric seeks support from "Monseigneur", a man who pretends to be Louis XVII, escaped from the Temple prison and living anonymously in the locality. However both Elfy and Anne are secretly in love with Hervé; and Anne believes that Hervé loves Elfy.

On the eve of her engagement to Albéric, Elfy disappears and everyone joins a search of the castle. The old baron's black cat guides Anne and Hervé to a dungeon into which Elfy has fallen and fainted. Anne privately discovers a secret room nearby which contains Baron Carol's treasures, and also his mummified body which crumbles to dust when she screams. She finds the baron's testament which declares Hervé to be his son and heir. Anne keeps the document to herself.

Elfy announces that she wants to marry Hervé, angering her mother. One night, Hervé, who is prone to sleepwalking, comes to Anne's room and carries her through the castle and grounds, demonstrating that he was in love with her without acknowledging it. Anne reveals the contents of the baron's will and Hervé's fortune. Rivalries and misunderstandings lead Albéric to challenge Hervé to a duel, during which a stray shot wounds Monseigneur, who is then revealed to be a poacher called Eustache Dauphin. Elfy is reconciled to Albéric, and Anne and Hervé are united. Eustache Dauphin is appointed game-keeper to the castle.

وصف سيرج دي بوليني أصول الفيلم في مقابلة أجريت معه عند عرضه. أوضح أن نقطة البداية كانت فكرة رومانسية عثر عليها في كتاب سحري قديم (فتاة صغيرة تسقط في زنزانة يوم خطوبتها وتجد كنزًا)، ثم أضاف إليها قصة عن أحد المدّعين الكاذبين للعرش الفرنسي الذين تكاثروا في السنوات التي تلت إعدام لويس السادس عشر. بعد ذلك، أمضى شهورًا يتجول بدراجته بحثًا عن مواقع تصوير خلابة، واختار قصر روزان في جيروند وقصر بونتارميه في لواز. ولم يسمح لنفسه بالتفكير في الجوانب التقنية للتصوير إلا بعد أن استقر على روح الفيلم وجوهره ^{[ 4 ].}

كتب السيناريو لويس شافانس بالتعاون مع سيرج دي بوليني، وكتب جان كوكتو الحوار. تولى جاك كراوس الإخراج الفني للفيلم ، وصمم الأزياء كريستيان ديور . باستثناء التصوير الخارجي في راوزان وبونتارمي، صُوّرت المشاهد الداخلية للفيلم في استوديوهات سان موريس في باريس. ^{[ 2 ]}

أُشيد بالفيلم لما يتميز به من "جوٍّ غير مألوف وشاعري"، ولذكاء ودقة إخراجه. ^{[ 5 ]} يُعتبر هذا الفيلم، إلى جانب فيلم "خطيبة الظلام" (1945)، من أفضل أفلام سيرج دي بوليني، إذ يتشاركان في خلق جوٍّ غامض وآسر. ^{[ 6 ]}

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