Judex is a 1916 French silent film serial consisting of twelve episodes, directed by Louis Feuillade in 1916, from a screenplay by Feuillade and Arthur Bernède, and released in 1917. Immediately preceding the weekly release of each episode, Judex's adventures were serialised in the daily magazine .
The serial shows the exploits of Judex, a vigilante draped in a long black cape, who is sworn to revenge his family upon a corrupt banker. However, Judex falls in love with his enemy's daughter. Meanwhile, the adventuress Diana Monti and her criminal gang try to get Favraux's money. Judex was played by French matinée idol René Cresté, and Diana Monti was played by Musidora, who had caused a sensation in the role of the villainess Irma Vep in Feuillade's previous successful serial, . Judex was a commercial success upon its release, and Feuillade directed a sequel the following year, .
The story has been remade twice with the same title, in 1934, directed by Maurice Champreux, and in 1963, directed by Georges Franju.
The serial was the model for several episodic film series, and the Judex character was an influence on the creation of the later characters The Shadow and Batman.
Plot
The story is complex and is told in a prologue and 12 chapters, varying in length from 9 to 40 minutes. In summary, a mysterious vigilante, Judex, (Latin for "Judge") takes on the banker Favraux, who built his fortune through criminal means. Judex kidnaps Favraux and imprisons him in the cellars of his hideout. Meanwhile, the adventuress Diana Monti intends to seize the banker's fortune. She kidnaps his daughter, but Judex, captivated by her charm, rescues and protects the young woman. + List of episodes Episode Title Plot summary Release date Running time2020 Gaumont restoration. Video Prologue The unscrupulous investment banker Favraux grows his financial empire by ruining others. Diana Monti, an ambitious criminal mastermind and adventuress, has successfully infiltrated his household by posing as "Marie Verdier", the demure governess of Favraux's young grandson, Jean. She plans to seduce Favraux and take possession of his fortune, with the aid of her accomplice and lover Robert Moralès. Meanwhile, the debt-ridden Amaury de la Rochefontaine intends to enrich himself by marrying Favraux's daughter, the widowed single mother Jacqueline Aubry.
An impoverished old man named Pierre Kerjean, just released from a long imprisonment, begs Favraux for help finding his lost son. It was the banker's bad advice and criminal involvement that led Kerjean to being jailed; his wife is dead and his son has turned to a life of crime under an assumed name. Favraux turns him away and later accidentally runs him over with his car.
A mysterious figure named Judex sends Favraux letters demanding he repent for his crimes and give half his fortune to the Public Assistance Bureau to atone for his sins, or face fatal consequences that day. Alarmed, Favraux hires the comic detective Cocantin of the Céléritas agency to find out who Judex is. Favraux ignores the warnings and hosts a lavish party for Jacqueline's engagement. As the clock strikes ten, Favraux drinks a toast and immediately falls dead. Diana Monti is suspicious of the circumstances.19January1917 40min 1 The Mysterious Shadow Jacqueline discovers the extent of her father's dishonesty, confirmed by her father's secretary Vallières, and begins giving away his fortune to those he ruined, and the remains to the Public Assistance Bureau. She breaks her engagement with the fortune-seeking de la Rochefontaine, dismisses her household, and sends her son, Little Jean, to be raised by his former nursemaid in the countryside.
Jacqueline receives a phone call and hears her father's voice begging her for forgiveness. In reality, Judex had used a specialised drug on Favraux to induce a death-like coma, smuggled his body out of the tomb, and imprisoned him in the deep, subterranean dungeons of his secret base, Château-Rouge, and forced him to speak on the phone.
Determined to live an honest life, Jacqueline moves to Neuilly-sur-Seine in search of work as a piano teacher under the alias "Jeanne Bertin", where she encounters Vallières. Judex secretly observes her and begins to question the severity of his revenge. He sends her a secret message that he is watching over her and will come to her aid if needed. The brother of one of Jacqueline's new students tries to force himself on her.
Diana Monti seethes with rage at the loss of Favraux's fortune. However, the rebuffed man, César de Birargues, brings his grievance to Diana Monti and Moralès, who hatch a plan to kidnap Jacqueline and allow de Birargues to heroically rescue her, in exchange for a payment from him of 10,000 francs. 19January1917 32min 2 The Atonement Judex and his brother, Roger, keep Favraux imprisoned in Château-Rouge. Little Jean goes to Paris alone to try to visit his mother, and befriends a street urchin, the Licorice Kid. Moralès and Diana Monti, disguised as the governess Marie Verdier, kidnap Jacqueline.
Jean finds his mother's room empty, and frees her caged homing pigeons, which fly to Château-Rouge and alert Judex to her need. Diana realises Favraux may still be alive and starts manoeuvring to locate him before Judex can complete his plans. 27January1917 20min 3 The Fantastic Dog Pack Diana Monti and Robert Moralès hold Jacqueline in a villa, and demand additional payment from César de Birargues for the abduction. Judex deploys his pack of dogs to track Jacqueline to the villa, where he and Roger find the chloroformed woman. They allow her to sleep, leaving a note instructing her to follow the dogs into the woods, where she is rescued by de Birargues's father and sister, and returned to her home.
Diana Monti and Moralès have escaped. A poodle walking on its hind legs brings them a note from Judex, warning them to leave Jacqueline alone. At Château-Rouge, where Favraux is imprisoned, Judex is thinking of the banker's daughter and may be falling in love with her.
Roger goes to a clinic to visit his old protégé, Pierre Kerjean, who has recovered from the injuries caused by Favraux's car. They go to Château-Rouge, where Judex shows Kerjean that Favraux is not dead. 3February1917 44min 4 The Secret of the Tomb Diana Monti and her gang exhume Favraux, and discover his coffin is empty. She and Moralès visit Detective Cocantin and demand to know where Favraux is. They offer him 100,000 francs to help them find Favraux alive, in which case the Public Assistance Bureau will have to return his millions.
Diana decides they must dispose of Jacqueline, who could identify them. She threatens to reveal Moralès's real identity if he does not comply with her plan. They lure Jacqueline away and throw her into the river, but she is rescued by Little Jean and the Licorice Kid, and she is taken to the home of Jean's foster parents to recover.
At Château-Rouge, Pierre Kerjean has become Favraux's jailer and Judex's servant. Kerjean asks permission to revisit his old mill, where he used to work, where his son was born and his wife died. Meanwhile, Judex decides to visit the seriously ill Jacqueline. 10February1917 31min 5 The Tragic Mill Vallières comes to ask about Jacqueline, but finds she has been abducted. Diana Monti and her gang take her to the old water mill. Moralès refuses to kill her; he and Diana fight, and she tries to stab him. Pierre Kerjean intervenes, and Moralès reveals he is Kerjean's own son. He blames Diana for his downfall, and promises to become an honest man. Pierre Kerjean leaves to phone Judex. Diana removes her outer clothing to reveal a bathing suit, and escapes by diving into the river.
Judex returns Jacqueline to Vallières's home to recover. Vallières explains that Judex protects her because he loves her. She replies that the name Judex fills her with fear, and he is never to mention it to her. Later, it is revealed that Vallières is, in fact, Judex in disguise. 17February1917 32min 6 The Licorice Kid Diana Monti visits Detective Cocantin and flirts with him. He allows her to stand in for him, and, as the governess Marie Verdier, she meets Amaury de la Rochefontaine. She enlists him as her accomplice in the search for Favraux.
Judex's brother Roger goes to the countryside in order to reunite Little Jean with his mother. Jean is kidnapped by Diana Monti and de la Rochefontaine, and left with Detective Cocantin, who becomes fond of him, and is unsure. She reminds him he can earn 100,000 francs.
The Licorice Kid tells Roger what has happened. Seeing a newspaper advertisement from the kidnappers, Roger sends the Licorice Kid to the Céléritas agency with instructions for them. Expecting Judex, Diana and de la Rochefontaine are both armed with pistols. The instructions are to display Jean on the balcony, but the Licorice Kid tells Jean to jump, and he is caught safely in a blanket by Roger and Judex. The honest Detective Cocantin disarms and chases Diana and de la Rochefontaine from his office, and befriends the Licorice Kid. Jean and Jacqueline are reunited. 24February1917 28min 7 The Woman in Black In a flashback to twenty years previously, the Comte de Trémeuse's financial ruin is shown, after the Comtesse de Trémeuse refused Favraux's advances. M. de Trémeuse shoots himself, leaving his wife and two young sons. Immediately afterwards, the sons inherit a valuable gold mine, restoring their fortunes. Their mother makes the boys swear to avenge their father's death.
In the present day, it is revealed that Judex is in fact the Comte Jacques de Trémeuse. He begs his mother, who is dressed in mourning black, to release him from his vow, since he now loves Favraux's daughter, but she refuses.
Disguised as Vallières, Judex visits Jacqueline and Little Jean. Cocantin takes the Licorice Kid to meet Jean, avoiding a kidnap attempt by Diana Monti and de la Rochefontaine. Mme. de Trémeuse tells her sons that she will avenge their father herself, but is deeply moved when she meets Favraux's grandson, Jean, and the Licorice Kid. 3March1917 36min 8 The Underground Passages of the Château-Rouge Mme. de Trémeuse and her sons go to Château-Rouge and visit Favraux. She sees he has lost his mind while imprisoned, and she relents. Robert Kerjean alias Moralès leaves a note to say he will enlist in the Foreign Legion, but he goes to see Diana Monti one last time. She reminds him that they could become wealthy and happy if he tells where Favraux is. He is captured by Diana's allure, and promises to bring Favraux to her and de la Rochefontaine.
He abducts someone from the dungeons of Château-Rouge, but later finds it was his own father, who is delivered to Diana Monti. She plans to do away with him, believing him to be Favraux. At the end of a chase, Cocantin shoots de la Rochefontaine dead, and Pierre Kerjean is rescued. 10March1917 30min 9 When the Child Appeared Roger and Mme. de Trémeuse take Jacqueline, Little Jean and the Licorice Kid to the family estate on the Riviera, where Judex keeps watch from a neighbouring villa, with Pierre Kerjean and Favraux. Judex introduces himself to Jacqueline as Jacques de Trémeuse; she thinks she has seen him before.
Cocantin comes to stay, but is followed by Robert Moralès; he has returned to Diana Monti, who is disguised in a man's clothes. Jacques de Trémeuse and Jacqueline grow closer. Little Jean sees Favraux, who instructs him to tell Jacqueline that he has seen his grandfather. Jacqueline and Jacques find Kerjean tied up, and Favraux missing.
Favraux escapes to a sailing ship hired by Moralès and Diana, who claims she is Marie Verdier, come to rescue her old employer and help him reclaim his fortune. The befuddled Favraux insists that his daughter and grandson must come with him, too.