G e r m a i n e d u l a c a cinema of Sensations t a m i w i l l i a m S Germaine Dulac Women and Film History International Series Editors Kay Armatage, Jane M. Gaines, and Christine Gledhill A new generation of motion picture historians is rediscovering the vital and diverse contributions of women to world film history whether as producers, actors, or spectators. Taking advantage of new print material and moving picture archival discoveries as well as the benefits of digital access and storage, this series investigates the significance of gender in the cinema. A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book. Germaine Dulac A Cinema of Sensations Tami Williams University of Illinois Press Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield © 2014 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 C P 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Williams, Tami, 1970– Germaine Dulac: a cinema of sensations / Tami Williams. pages cm. — (Women and film history international) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-252-03847-1 (cloth: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-252-07997-9 (pbk.: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-252-09636-5 (ebook) 1. Dulac, Germaine, 1882–1942—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. PN1998.3.D745W66 2014 791.4302'33092—dc23 [B] 2014003225 For Valerie, Janet & Doris Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I 1. “ How I Became a Film Director”: Dulac’s Early Life and Pre-Filmmaking Career 9 2. The Great War and Dulac’s First Films 45 Part II 3. Negotiating Art and Industry in the Postwar Context 77 4. Dulac’s Aesthetic Matures 124 Part III 5. Fiction, Newsreels, and Social Documentary in the Sound Era 163 6. Popular Front Activism and Vichy 195 Conclusion 209 Chronology 213 Filmography 219 Notes 231 Bibliography 277 Index 295 acknowledgments Many film scholars, teachers, archivists, editors, and research institutions made this project possible. My first thanks go to Dulac scholars Sandy Flitterman- Lewis, and Prosper Hillairet, who led me to discover the filmmaker and her rich oeuvre, and to Rodolphe Lussiana of the Cinémathèque française and Christian Lebrat, director of Éditions Paris expérimental, who first gave me the opportunity to view and publish on these films in France. My inspir- ing undergraduate film studies mentors, Edward Branigan, Mary Desjardins, Janet Walker, Mark Williams, and Charles Wolfe, set me on this path at UC- Santa Barbara; and the brilliant Carlo Ginzburg, Peter Wollen, Dudley Andrew, and Yuri Tsivian, helped shape my archival research methodology during my doctoral studies and graduate coursework at UCLA, the University of Iowa, and USC. I could not have accomplished this project without the dedicated personal mentorship, archival guidance, and attentive manuscript readings of my UCLA doctoral chair, Janet Bergstrom, and the faithful support of my committee members, Stephen Mamber, Patricia Harter, and the sadly missed Teshome Gabriel. All of these amazing scholars and mentors continue to in- spire me to cast my own research broadly across media, and across national and disciplinary boundaries. My deep gratitude goes to my discerning readers Peter Dreyer, Alison McKee, and Charles O’Brien, my generous, talented, and indefatigable copyeditor Deborah Oliver, my enthusiastic and steadfast edi- tors Joan Catapano, Daniel Nassett, and Jennifer Clark, and the University of Illinois Press for their faith in this book. Thanks also to Kay Armatage, Jane M. Gaines, and Christine Gledhill, who created the Women and Film History International series, in which I am honored to have this book included. ix