Par le trou de la serrure | 1901 | Comedy, Short

Title: Par le trou de la serrure | 1901 | Comedy, Short Director: Ferdinand Zecca Studio: Pathé Frères Runtime: 2 Format: Black-and-white; Silent; 35 mm; 1.33:1 Country: France Language: Silent Genres: Comedy, Short, Erotic --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Corridor and temptation 00:00:20 Room 1: Woman at her toilette 00:00:45 Room 2: Disguise revealed 00:01:10 Room 3: Champagne flirtation 00:01:35 Caught at the door --- Summary: A hotel porter yields to curiosity on an upstairs corridor, peering through four keyholes to glimpse the private lives of guests. He sees a woman grooming, a surprising revelation in the next room, and a flirtatious couple, before the final door opens and the voyeur is kicked down the stairs, providing the film’s comic payoff. The film plays on titillation and voyeurism while using keyhole-shaped mattes to adopt the porter’s point of view, an early example of subjective camera in French cinema. --- Background: Produced by Pathé Frères and directed by Ferdinand Zecca, the short reflects early-1900s experimentation with editing and point-of-view shots influenced by British Brighton School filmmakers such as George Albert Smith. It circulated internationally with alternate English titles, including What Is Seen Through a Keyhole in the United States and Peeping Tom in the United Kingdom; U.S. distribution followed in 1902 via companies such as Edison, Lubin, and Kleine. --- Trivia: French sources describe the film as a comédie érotique, highlighting its playful but risqué treatment of privacy and spectacle in a hotel setting. A restoration timing from the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé program lists the film at approximately 1 minute 41 seconds, though general references round it to about two minutes. The short employs keyhole mattes to confine the viewer’s gaze, anticipating later codified iris and vignette effects in silent-era style. Technical specifications typical for the period include 35 mm, 1.33:1, black-and-white, and silent presentation. In U.S. release, the film appeared under the retitled What Happened to the Inquisitive Janitor in May 1902. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Studio / Distributor: Pathé Frères / Pathé Company. Copyright Status: Public Domain. Renewal: No --- Hashtags: ParLeTrouDeLaSerrure FerdinandZecca Pathé PublicDomain SilentFilm FrenchCinema 1901 ShortFilm Comedy This video was sourced from Internet Archive. Originally uploaded by cringeape20@gmail.com. https://archive.org/details/par-le-trou-de-la-serrure-1901-directed-by-ferdinand-zecca