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Fantômas (1913 serial)

1913 film series of five films by Louis Feuillade

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ2026801 ↗
Source-derived summary

Fantômas (pronounced [fɑ̃toˈmas]) is a French silent crime film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, based on the novel of the same name. The five episodes, initially released throughout 1913–14, were restored under the direction of Jacques Champreaux and re-released in 2006. It was inspired by Italian-French director and actor Romeo Bosetti, a colleague with Feuillade, who served as producer.

Series

The series consists of five episodes, each an hour to an hour and a half in length, which end in cliffhangers. Episodes one and three end with Fantômas making a last-minute escape, and the end of the second entry has Fantômas blowing up Lady Beltham's manor house with Juve and Fandor, the two heroes, still inside. The subsequent episodes begin with a recap of the story that has gone before. Each film is further divided into three or more chapters that do not end in cliffhangers.

Fantômas I: À l'ombre de la guillotine ("Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine") (1913)

"Le Vol du Royal Palace Hotel" ("The Theft at the Royal Palace Hotel")

"La Disparition de Lord Beltham" ("The Disappearance of Lord Beltham")

"Autour de l'échafaud" ("By the Guillotine")

Fantômas II: Juve contre Fantômas ("Juve vs. Fantômas") (1913)

"La Catastrophe du Simplon-Express" ("Disaster on the Simplon Express")

"Au "Crocodile" ("At the Crocodile")

"La Villa hantée" ("The Haunted Villa")

"L'Homme noir" ("The Man in Black")

Fantômas III: Le Mort Qui Tue ("Fantômas: The Dead Man Who Killed") (1913)

"Le Drame de la rue Norvins" ("The Tragedy in Rue Norvins")

"L'Enquête de Fandor" ("Fandor's Investigation")

"Le Collier de la princesse" ("The Princess's Necklace")

"Le Banquier Nanteuil" ("The Banker Nanteuil")

"Elizabeth Dollon"

"Les Gants de peau humaine" ("The Human Skin Gloves")

Fantômas IV: Fantômas contre Fantômas ("Fantômas vs. Fantômas") (1914)

"Fantômas et l'opinion publique" ("Fantômas and Public Opinion")

"Le Mur qui saigne" ("The Wall that Bleeds")

"Fantômas contre Fantômas" ("Fantômas vs.

Editorial summary

“Fantômas (1913 serial)” enters the record as 1913 film series of five films by Louis Feuillade. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Fantômas, serial and film can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1913, 2006, 1914—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1913. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Fantômas, serial and film.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Fantômas (1913 serial)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Fantômas, serial and film provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2026801. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1913, 2006 and 1914.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Fantômas (1913 serial)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Fantômas (1913 serial) primary sources, Fantômas (1913 serial) archive and Fantômas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fantômas (1913 serial)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Fantômas (1913 serial)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.