Fantômas, 1920 -- November 17, 2020

 

Motion Picture News, 13-November-1920

Before I saw this trade ad, I did not remember that Fox had produced an American version of Fantomas in 1920. Its 20 episodes contained few things that resembled the original French version. 

Moving Picture World, 04-July-1912

Fantômas -- The Iron Man -- July 16, 2014

Moving Picture World 04-July-1912

Fantômas was a popular criminal character who first appeared in a series of French thriller novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre.  In 1913-1914, Louis Feuillade created a 5-part movie serial which was released by the Gaumont Company.  Each episode, was 54-90 minutes, longer than episodes of a typical American serial.  The serial/series was very popular.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version. 

Moving Picture World 13-April-1912