THE PILLAR OF FIRE (1899)
aka La Colonne de feu, Le Danse de feu
Article 2532 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-11-2008
Posting Date: 7-18-2008
Directed by Georges Melies
Featuring Jeanne d’Alcy, Georges Melies
Country: France

A devil starts a fire, and a woman dances in it.

This is another movie that I’d relegated to my “not found” list, and perhaps it should have stayed there. If the truth be told, I’m not sure that this movie is the same movie. The movie I saw is called LE DANSE DE FEU, with an alternate English title of THE PILLAR OF FIRE. The movie I was looking for is called LA COLONNE DE FEU, with an alternate English title of HAGGARD’S SHE: THE PILLAR OF FIRE. Both titles are listed as having belonged to the year 1899, and I haven’t a source yet that lists the two movies as separate entities. Are they, in fact, the same movie? I’m taking a guess and saying that they are unless I receive other info to clarify the situation. As for the movie itself, there’s little more to it than the above plot description, so I’m considering it one of Melies’s lesser efforts. I’m pretty sure that’s him as the devil; he never missed an opportunity to play one.

NOTE: This was written several months ago. I now notice that the other French title has been added as an altenate title to this one, which I will take as evidence that this is indeed the same movie.