Julien Duvivier remade this silent pic of the famous Jules Renard novel as an early sound film in 1932 (not seen here*), but this version, in an excellent DVD edition from Lobster, is hard to beat. Carrot Top is the unloved, unwanted runt in a wildly dysfunctional French country family. Mom is a particular horror, but the eldest son, older sister & distant father aren’t far behind. The atmosphere is like something out of Cinderella, but this is no fairy tale as the remarkable location filming emphasizes. Hard work & constant rejection (at home, at school, even by the mom of the sweet little neighbor he dreams of marrying) take a heavy toll on the boy’s spirit. It’s not long before thoughts of ‘a barn, a beam & a rope’ overtake his mind. Grim doings. Yet somehow, Duvivier finds tremendous life & even shards of comedy in the daily grind. He certainly goes all out showing his wonderfully snazzy silent film technique. Lots of ideas from the likes of D W Griffith & Abel Gance are on proud display here, and Duvivier & his cameraman get some nifty split-screen effects simply by rapidly swinging a hinged mirror in front of the camera. The acting is rather broad & crude for 1925, but the archetypes all come roaring to life. Carrot Top is André Heuzé in his one & only credit and you can all but hear Duvivier telling him just what to do. He’s dutiful, and he certainly looks the part! Now, we need the 1932 version on a restored DVD edition. (1/19/16 - And now we've got it in a 4-pac set: JULIEN DUVIVIER IN THE THIRTIES, look for it on Criterion.)
LINK: *Now seen! https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2016/01/poil-de-carotte-carrot-top-aka-red-head.html
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