MATHOT, LÉON

(1886-1968)

Actor and director. Léon Mathot began his career atPathéstudios near the turn of the century. He started as an actor and quickly became a veritable star, something that was unusual at that time. Over the course of the silent era, Mathot appeared in more than forty films, includingGeorges Hatotand André Heuzé'sLa Course à la perruque(1906),Henri Andréani'sLa Légende des chevaliers d'Algabert(1912),Les Rivaux d'Arnheim(1912), andLe Pont fatal(1914),Alfred Machin'sLa Dramatique passion d'Algabert et d'Elisabeth de Rodembourg(1912) andLe Secret de l'acier(1912),Camille de Morlhon'sSous l'uniforme(1915),Abel Gance'sFioritures(1916),Les Gaz mortels(1916),La Zone de la mort(1917),Le Droit à la vie(1917), andBarberousse(1917), Maurice Mariaud'sNemrod et cie(1916),Henri Pouctal'sVolonté(1917), his seriesLe Comte de Monte Cristo(1918), and his filmTravail(1920), Charles Burguet'sLa Course du flambeau(1918),Gaston Ravel'sLa Maison d'argile(1918), Edouard-Émile Violet'sPapillons(1920), René Hervil'sL'Ami Fritz(1920), andRené Leprince'sL'Empereur des pauvres(1922),tre ou ne pas être(1922),Jean d'Aggrève(1922), andMon oncle Benjamin(1923).

Later in his silent career, Mathot moved from more mainstream film to avant-garde cinema. He starred inJean Epstein'sCoeur fidèle(1923) andL'Auberge rouge(1923), as well as inGermaine Dulac'sLe Diable dans la ville(1924). Other late films include Henri Étiévant'sLa Nuit de la revanche(1924), Marco de Gastyne'sLa Blessure(1925),André Hugon'sYasmina(1926), andHenri Diamant-Berger'sRue de la paix(1926).He also appeared in a small number of sound films, includingHenri Fescourt'sLa Maison de la flèche(1930) and Hervil andLouis Mercanton'sLe Mystère de la villa rose(1930).

In the late 1920s, Mathot began directing as well as acting. His first film wasCelle qui domine(1927), codirected with Carmine Gallone, and it was a film in which Mathot also starred. Other Mathot films includeDans l'ombre du harem(1928), codirected with André Liabel;Le Refuge(1930);La Bande à Bouboule(1931);Embrassez-moi(1932);Bouboule 1er roi nègre(1933);Le Comte Obligado(1934);La Mascotte(1935), starring Lucien Baroux;Les Loups entre eux(1936), starringJules Berryand Gina Manès;L'Ange du foyer(1936);L'Homme à abattre(1937), starring Berry andViviane Romance;Chéri-Bibi(1937), starringPierre Fresnay,Jean-Pierre Aumont, and Colette Darfeuil;Le Révolté(1938), starring Pierre Renoir andRené Dary;Le Collier de chanvre(1940);Cartacalha,reine des gitans(1942), also starring Romance;Forte tête(1942), starring Dary;L'Homme sans nom(1943), starring Jean Galland;La Route du bagne(1945), also starring Romance;La Danseuse de Marrakech(1949); andMon gosse de père(1953), his final film.

In general, Mathot has been remembered more as an actor than as a director. His popularity and his range on the screen are one reason the films in which he acted are more memorable than those he directed. What is more, he was fortunate, as an actor, to work with some of the great directors of the silent era. As a director, Mathot tried his hand at comedy and drama and was able to work with some of the best actors of the day. His films were relatively successful during their release. However, with relatively few exceptions, they have been forgotten.