PAUVRE MERE (1906)
aka Poor Mother
Article 4643 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-2-2014
Directed by Albert Capellani
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Tear-jerker

When her daughter dies after falling from a window, a mother proves inconsolable and turns to drink.

If there’s anything you can really say about the early silent shorts, they were very good at condensing time. You wouldn’t think a mere six minutes would be enough to really put someone through the wringer, but that’s what this downright depressing short does. Granted, with that short a length, I can’t say it really transcends being anything more than a tear-jerker; there’s no real emotional purge here, because there isn’t enough time. Still, the short does have a certain power. The fantastic content involves the woman’s drunken hallucinations that her child is still there.