Louis Feuillade was remarkable. Not content with turning out close to 700 Silent Shorts and Serials he also experimented with the medium long before it became fashionable. Here, in 1912, yet, he offers a split screen illustrating succinctly the main thrust of the story, the twin appeals of love and money. Suzanne, the heroine, knows what SHE wants and it's love every time, even with the poor boatman who hasn't got change of a match, but MOMMA has other ideas, namely the fat cat in the château who has eyes for Suzanne. With Mom in the driving seat it's no contest and Love finishes out of the money in both senses of the word. When the rich man croaks Suzanne is left to give us her take on Ophelia. I'm guessing that unhappy endings were rare in 1912 which makes this all the more interesting.
6 Reviews
The Heart and the Money review
JoeytheBrit24 June 2020
A glum drama from the prolific Louis Feuillade and Leonce Perret which dresses an unremarkable tale of love frustrated with some sublime shot compositions and impressive early use of split screen to illustrate a character's thoughts.
Nice artistic composition
planktonrules3 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I've seen quite a few films by Louis Feuillad and Léonce Perret (the two co-directors of this film) and what I noticed first about this particular movie is that the film is unusually artistic. The composition and "eye" for the film is much better than either director usually created on their own. The way the scenes are arranged, the lighting, the nice double-exposures, the final scene in the river, etc. are all first-class in this era of trailblazing in pictures.
This is an odd film and I am not even sure that the plot makes any sense from a legal standpoint. A young lady is in love with a young man but her mother does not approve. When a rich guy proposes to her, she follows her mother's wishes and marries him instead of her sweetheart. Here is where it gets weird--he soon dies but stipulates in the will that she will be disinherited if she remarries!! Despondent, she throws herself in the river and dies (in a scene, by the way, that is quite pretty)! The story isn't great, so I've gotta knock off a couple points, but because of its artistry, it's still a film to watch and admire.
This is an odd film and I am not even sure that the plot makes any sense from a legal standpoint. A young lady is in love with a young man but her mother does not approve. When a rich guy proposes to her, she follows her mother's wishes and marries him instead of her sweetheart. Here is where it gets weird--he soon dies but stipulates in the will that she will be disinherited if she remarries!! Despondent, she throws herself in the river and dies (in a scene, by the way, that is quite pretty)! The story isn't great, so I've gotta knock off a couple points, but because of its artistry, it's still a film to watch and admire.
Money can't buy me love
dbdumonteil24 December 2008
A tragic melodrama by Louis Feuillade:Suzanne is in love with a poor young man;but her mother has higher ambitions and wants her to marry a nouveau riche who owns a castle .She obeys her mum but soon her husband dies and his last will is harsh: should she marry again again,she would lose all the dead's fortune.What shall she do?
There are two mini "split screens":when Suzanne is in her castle,half of the picture shows her boating on the river with her former sweetheart;then ,later ,when she meets the boy by the river ,memories come back to haunt the ex-fiancé : he sees her walking along the riverside with her beau.
Money can't buy happiness.Or can it?
There are two mini "split screens":when Suzanne is in her castle,half of the picture shows her boating on the river with her former sweetheart;then ,later ,when she meets the boy by the river ,memories come back to haunt the ex-fiancé : he sees her walking along the riverside with her beau.
Money can't buy happiness.Or can it?
Great use of naturalistic lighting and location
jrd_739 July 2011
This short film was my favorite piece in Kino's first volume of Gaumont Treasures. As the other reviewers have mentioned, the plot is a melodrama. A woman loves a poor villager but is loved by a rich landowner. The woman's mother forces her to choose the landowner. The story is not what makes the film notable.
It was co-directed by Louis Feuillade and Leonce Parret. The Parret influence is particularly strong. Feuillade's shorts are mostly set bound affairs filmed on studio stages. Parret took his camera outside in films like A Child of Paris and The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador and was rewarded with a poetic style that one does not get from Feuillade's work. He (and Feuillade) made a wise decision to move onto location for this film. The poor village lover is associated by open space, the river, and bright sunlight. The natural locations shimmer. This short could have been an influence on both Murnau's Sunrise and Vigo's L'Atalante.
Aside from the visual element, I thought the story was a little bolder than the usual melodrama. The rich landowner is not an evil person. He does genuinely love his wife and treats her well. She denies him her heart and that constant coldness is why he stipulates what he does in his will. Everyone makes wrong choices in the film and these choices build to an effective finale, theatrics aside.
All of this and some impressive early uses of split screen effects make for an impressive viewing experience. The Heart and the Money a classic in pre-Birth of a Nation cinema.
It was co-directed by Louis Feuillade and Leonce Parret. The Parret influence is particularly strong. Feuillade's shorts are mostly set bound affairs filmed on studio stages. Parret took his camera outside in films like A Child of Paris and The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador and was rewarded with a poetic style that one does not get from Feuillade's work. He (and Feuillade) made a wise decision to move onto location for this film. The poor village lover is associated by open space, the river, and bright sunlight. The natural locations shimmer. This short could have been an influence on both Murnau's Sunrise and Vigo's L'Atalante.
Aside from the visual element, I thought the story was a little bolder than the usual melodrama. The rich landowner is not an evil person. He does genuinely love his wife and treats her well. She denies him her heart and that constant coldness is why he stipulates what he does in his will. Everyone makes wrong choices in the film and these choices build to an effective finale, theatrics aside.
All of this and some impressive early uses of split screen effects make for an impressive viewing experience. The Heart and the Money a classic in pre-Birth of a Nation cinema.
The Heart and the Money
Michael_Elliott10 August 2010
Le coeur et l'argent (1912)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Mildly entertaining drama about Suzanne (Suzanne Grandais), a young woman who is forced by her mother (Renee Carl) to give up the poor man she loves and instead marry a rich one. The rich man dies shortly after the wedding but in his will he states that Suzanne gets everything as long as she never marries another man. Does she keep the money or does she give it up and go back to the man she really loves? This tragic drama has some good things going for it but as I make my way through Feuillande's portion of the Gaumont Treasures Collection I'm starting to realize that he didn't like editing. I say this for a couple reasons. The first is that his films look very old-fashioned as they don't feature any editing, no close-ups and nothing to really build much drama as the camera pretty much stays in one place and doesn't move. Another problem with the lack of editing is that scenes just drag on and on and on for no reasons other than to build up the running time. There are numerous scenes that just keep running on and on and in the end they really don't get anything done except for the added time. Just take a look at the scene where Suzanne must decide if she wants to escape the will or not. You know what's coming yet we get a good minute or two of her just sitting there with nothing going on. I'm really not sure why so many of his films have stuff like this but a little less would have meant a lot more. I thought Grandais was very good in her role and the ending is certainly one you won't see coming but it's done very well.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Mildly entertaining drama about Suzanne (Suzanne Grandais), a young woman who is forced by her mother (Renee Carl) to give up the poor man she loves and instead marry a rich one. The rich man dies shortly after the wedding but in his will he states that Suzanne gets everything as long as she never marries another man. Does she keep the money or does she give it up and go back to the man she really loves? This tragic drama has some good things going for it but as I make my way through Feuillande's portion of the Gaumont Treasures Collection I'm starting to realize that he didn't like editing. I say this for a couple reasons. The first is that his films look very old-fashioned as they don't feature any editing, no close-ups and nothing to really build much drama as the camera pretty much stays in one place and doesn't move. Another problem with the lack of editing is that scenes just drag on and on and on for no reasons other than to build up the running time. There are numerous scenes that just keep running on and on and in the end they really don't get anything done except for the added time. Just take a look at the scene where Suzanne must decide if she wants to escape the will or not. You know what's coming yet we get a good minute or two of her just sitting there with nothing going on. I'm really not sure why so many of his films have stuff like this but a little less would have meant a lot more. I thought Grandais was very good in her role and the ending is certainly one you won't see coming but it's done very well.
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