Au Secours!

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Au Secours! is a 1924 short French silent comedy horror film, directed by Abel Gance^[2] and starring Max Linder. The French title translates into English as "Help!". The film is also known as The Haunted House in some reference books. The film was made on a dare, with Gance filming the entire project in three days, with the help of his friend, actor Max Linder. Linder had just returned to France after several years of trying to start an acting career in Canada.^[3]

Max Linder, depressed since his service in World War I, had earlier entered into a suicide pact with his younger wife in 1924, the year after they were married, but the attempt failed and the event was hushed up. Their second attempt succeeded however in 1925, and the pair succumbed to an overdose of poison and blood loss from slitting their wrists, leaving behind a very young daughter Maud. Quentin Tarantino included a reference/ homage to Linder in his 2009 film, Inglourious Basterds.^[4]

The film is based on the haunted house premise, though the setting is a haunted castle. In the film, a young man agrees to spend one hour in the haunted castle to win a bet with a count. He faces living mannequins, skeletons, wild animals, and ghosts. Yet, he loses the bet when he is tricked into believing that his wife is in distress and runs to her side.