Sarah Duhamel
Today I learned about Sarah Duhamel, a French queen of slapstick comedy.
Born in 1873, she made her stage debut at the age of three. Successful as a child performer, she started working in film in 1908.
From 1911-1916, she partnered with director Romeo Bosetti to make thirty “Rosalie” and twenty “Pétronille” short films.
Considered one of the pioneers of sitcoms, Duhamel is an inspiration from a time when few females were given the space to do comedy.
Here are a few of her shorts and other projects:
Patouillard a une femme jalouse (1912): she does great physical comedy in this one — though she is the start of this short, she isn’t credited!
Little Moritz enlève Rosalie (1911): oh my gosh, the ending haha
Little Moritz aime Rosalie (1911): the dancing scene, climbing over the guy cuz he’s so in love, great moments
Little Moritz demande Rosalie en mariage (1911): the absurdity of this one is great
Leontine, The Troublemaker (1911): start at 29:40 — she’s only in this one a little bit but it is mainly another funny actress who is unidentified
Le singe de Pétronille (1913): some good absurd moments but I felt bad for the monkey!
Le torchon brûle (1911): remember that joke about the soccer player exaggerating an injury and rolling and rolling and rolling? This is that — the absurd ending is great.
La Nuit de noces de Calino (1909): a little slow but I love how far they take the joke in the end
Gavroche au Luna-Park (1912): this one was a little boring too but you get to see what amusement parks were like back then which is pretty cool
Gavroche rêve de grandes chasses (1912): this one is boring but it has a lion in it
Resources:
Slapstick Divas by Steve Massa