Episodes
Episode Details:
WATCH THIS FIRST! This prologue not only introduces the characters, but lays out important elements in the plot scheme. I'd already watched the first episode before I found this, and regretted it.
Highlights:
- The more natural acting styles of Musidora and Louis Leubas
- The comic flair of the unidentified actor that played Jonas the office assistant.
Highlights:
- Romance without finance don't make no sense
- The heartbreaking tragedy of dismissing the servants and being forced to actually work for a living
- The long shadow shot
- The Calyx Bar scene, and why encouraging more men to talk about their feelings may be A Bad Idea
Highlights:
- Orphaned homeless street boy (who can read a handwritten letter!) gets a big kiss after he tells other boy “I like the looks of you”
- Batman deja vu: A distress signal appears at the tech-equipped cave headquarters of the caped crusader and his sidekick
- Orwell deja vu: “The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. . . The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely. ”
- Foucault deja vu: “the prisoner should be constantly observed by an inspector...power should be visible and unverifiable.”
Highlights:
- Diana Monti's dainty primping before strong-arming a chump to protect her Boy Toy - and then razzing the chump to boot (suspect that Musidora's characters were defined more by improvising than script!)
- René Cresté's hilarious zombie style of acting
- And, of course, the tails-up hardcore crew of the title
Highlights:
- Drive-in of “Diana Monti and her gang” (title card informs us): Mobster leaps out to open door for Monti, who then daintily assists her Boy Toy
- The house servant's duties include serving as messenger, personal valet, and (literally) a shoulder to cry on
- Batman deja vu all over again: An elderly man becomes servant of the dark-caped vigilante and assists the dynamic duo in their mission
Highlights:
- Boy Toy finally mans up...while hiding behind a locked door
- Diana Monti reveals a taste of The Gloss That Makes Her The Boss
- Judex's dilemma
Highlights:
- Diana Monti busting moves left and right
- Everyone checking the “Miscellaneous” section of the classifieds
- Judex refers to himself in the third person
- Baby-tossing, Indian-style
Highlights:
- How times have changed: in 1916 grey hair is light, but in 1896 blonde hair is completely dark!
- The Heartbroken Avenger
- The Whoop-Ass Woman in Black
Highlights:
- Up close and personal, revenge is not so sweet
- Final farewell to an ex is always A Bad Idea
- “Surely, the world's most intractable problems could be solved if humanity could only find three reliable men and a fast car” --from The Wisdom of Master Boy Toy
Highlights:
- Diana Monti, Le Grande Femme Fatale, in suit and tie
- Toy Boy's sailor suit
- Louis Leubas' subtle portrayal of Favraux's diverse psychological states
Highlight: Jacqueline's discovery of Vallieres' tragic struggle with SAHLS (Sudden Acute Hair Loss Syndrome)
Highlights:
- Judex comes down hard on criminally unstylish hats
- Diana Monti demonstrates the most idiotic way to wield a gun
- The surprise hero
- Jacques de Tremeuse refers to himself in the third person
- Judex's profound concern for the well-being of his crime-fighting partners: No Man Left Behind!
Highlights:
- The ridiculously stiff walk of Judex: always present, but most notable at 00:14
- In the new house, scenes with The Woman In Black are almost always in darkness
- Louis Leubas' performance
- The poignant ending
DON'T WATCH THIS AT ALL! The sole intertitle of the 1924 film Der Letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) applies here:
Here our story should really end, for in actual life the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death.
The author took pity on him, however, and provided quite an improbable epilogue.
One writer explains this with the claim:
The film's producer Erich Pommer, representing the general concept of the time, thought that a film with such a bad end would have very little success...As a result, he forced Murnau and Mayer to add a happy end in the film.
Highlights:
Do yourself a favor: don't watch this epilogue.