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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 914

The Assassination of the Duke of Guise

Synopsis

The Duke of Guise receives a royal summons to the Château de Blois, where Henry III has prepared to eliminate a powerful rival. Movement through the court's rooms gradually narrows the duke's possibilities of escape. The historical reconstruction concentrates on the arranged meeting and the assassination concealed behind the authority of the invitation.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: French.
This copy runs
13:46
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: French. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · André Calmettes · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Cast

Behind the scenes

The Film d'Art production joined performers from the Comédie-Française with Henri Lavedan's screenplay and an original score by Camille Saint-Saëns. Its theatrical prestige was part of a deliberate effort to establish cinema as a respected cultural form.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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