The Little Match Girl (‘La petite marchande d’allumettes’)

34 minutes | 8 June 1928 | France

‘From Hans Christian Andersen’s story to the screen by Jean Renoir, Catherine Hessling as Karen evokes delight and pathos. An impoverished girl tries to sell matches on NYE. Shivering with cold and unable to sell her wares, she sits in a sheltered nook. Striking a match to keep warm, she sees things in the flame.’

Director: Jean Renoir
Producer: Jean Renoir, Jean Tedesco
Written By: Hans Christian Andersen, Jean Renoir
Starring: Catherine Hessling as Karen, Jean Storm as Young Man, Manuel Raaby as Police Agent, Anny Xells as The Doll
Music: Manuel Rosenthal, Marc Perrone
Mise-En-Scène: Jean Renoir
Cinematography: Jean Bachelet
Decorator: Erich Aes

Downloads (via Internet Archive): Flash, MPEG4, Ogg, Torrent

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The Internet Archive, at archive.org, is a prominent source for moving pictures in the public domain or under a Creative Commons licence. This means that they are free to stream, and in many cases to download and utilise creatively. The Internet Archive holds a collection of more than 3,000 feature films, many but not all from the silent era, and from across world cinema.

Each month I will select an available film, typically courtesy of the Internet Archive, and present it here to watch and with links to download wherever possible. The following day I will publish an analysis of the film, based on my own viewing, alongside commentary from pertinent critics. Read The Little Match Girl (1928) analysis at Culturedarm.