Marcel Perez & Luigi Maggi - Le avventure straordinarissime di Saturnino Farandola (1913)

To say that this obscure, old, Italian adventure epic has a little of everything would be an understatement to stand in suitable proportion to the length of its title. In the course of little over one hour, the hero (Saturnino Farandola) becomes orphaned in a shipwreck, and is raised by a tribe of ape(men) on an exotic island. In a flash, he has grown to manhood, and he sets out on a series of adventures that take him across (most of) the seven seas and continents, to the floor of the ocean, and the clouds far above. He battles pirates, orientals, American Indians, villains and mad scientists. He falls in love, and lives to see his beloved swallowed by a whale (himself being trapped in a giant oyster at the time), and eventually coughed up again.







The Extraordinary Adventures of Saturnino Farandola
As the title of this film implies, "Le Avventure Straordinarissime Di Saturnino Farandola" or "The Very Extraordinary Adventures of Saturnin Farandoul" is an extraordinarily astonishing not to mention surprising silent Italian film. It has nothing in common with the well-known and highly reputed Italian film productions of the early years, that is to say, melodramas or costume epic films. On the contrary, "Le Avventure…" has evident influences from Mélies or Chomón in its characteristics in that it is an absurd, witty and funny fantastic film. The film is based on a novel written by Albert Robida with a long title that reads: "Voyage Très Extraordinaires De Saturnin Farandoul Dans Les 5 ou 6 Parties Du Monde Et Dans Tous Les Pays Connus Et Même Inconnus De M. Jules Verne" (it seems that once you have read such a long title, you have already read half the novel…). It was directed and starred by the unknown Marcel Fabre, whose real name was Marcel Fernández Pérez.

The film tells the adventures of Saturnino Farandola, the only surviving of a shipwreck when he was a baby (his father and mother saving him at the cost of their lives). He arrives to a strange island inhabited exclusively by monkeys. Those animals raise him for years but when they see that as time goes by the infant doesn't have a tail, they decide to ignore him. Humiliated, Saturnino leaves the island in a raft and is rescued by a boat. There he will learn to speak and to behave properly, becoming an officer. The boat will be attacked by pirates and from then Saturnino will live one strange adventure after another (his fiancée will be eaten by a whale, he will have to search for a white elephant, he will join the North America Milligan army against those South Milligan forces or he will experience air balloon battle, etc…) Along the way he will visit many countries (Oceania, Siam, America) and finally to return to the place of his origins, the monkey island.

Remarkable are the balloon battle and the aquatic scenes, plainly influenced by Mélies, in where Fabre displays his ingenious and imagination at his best. Wonderful and fantastic images are included in an excellent film that deserve to being known and enjoyed by silent film connoisseurs. (IMDB comment)







Las extraordinarias aventuras de Saturnino Farandola
Como el título de esta película lo indica, "Le Avventure Straordinarissime Di Saturnino Farandola" es extraordinariamente sorprendente. No tiene nada en común con las producciones de cine italiano bien conocidas de los primeros años, es decir, melodramas o películas épicas. Por el contrario, "Le Avventure ..." tiene influencias evidentes de Mélies y Segundo de Chomón, ya que es una película absurda, ingeniosa y divertida. La película está basada en una novela escrita por Albert Robida, y dirigida y protagonizada por el desconocido Marcel Fabre, cuyo nombre real era Marcel Fernández Pérez.

La película cuenta las aventuras de Saturnino Farandola, el único sobreviviente de un naufragio cuando era un bebé (su padre y su madre lo salvan a costa de sus vidas). Él llega a una extraña isla habitada exclusivamente por monos. Los animales lo criarán durante años, pero cuando ven que con el paso del tiempo el niño no tiene una cola, deciden ignorarlo. Humillado, Saturnino abandona la isla en una balsa y es rescatado por un barco. Allí aprenderá a hablar y a comportarse correctamente, convirtiéndose en un oficial. El barco será atacado por piratas y desde entonces Saturnino vivirá una extraña aventura tras otra (su novia, será tragada por una ballena, tendrá que buscar un elefante blanco, se unirá en América al ejército de Milligan del Norte en contra de las fuerzas de Milligan del Sur, experimentará una batalla aérea en globo, etc ...) A lo largo de la película visitará muchos países (Oceanía, Tailandia, America) y, finalmente, regresará a su lugar de origen, la Isla de los Simios.





Il film narra, in quattro episodi, le mirabolanti avventure di Saturnino Farandola che, tra isole tropicali, viaggi in fondo al mare e nello spazio, ha modo di incontrare animali fantastici e personaggi eccentrici che sembrano usciti dalle pagine di Jules Verne. Saturnino Farandola, interpretato dall'attore comico Marcel Fabre - più noto come Robinet -, nasce dalla fantasia del celebre disegnatore Albert Robida. Prodotto nel 1914 dall' Ambrosio Film di Torino. Sceneggiatura di Guido Volante, dal romanzo "Voyages très extraordinaires de Saturin Farandoul" di Albert Robida. Con Marcel Fabre, Emilia Pozzi Ricci, Nilde Baracchi, Luciano Manara, Oreste Grandi e Alfredo Bertone. Al regista del film va riconosciuto il merito di aver fatte proprie la lezione e le atmosfere fantastiche delle opere di Méliès.





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