Sunday, July 8, 2012

As heartwarming a blog post as I'll ever write.

Here's a beautifully lithographed poster advertising the serialization in Le Petit Journal of la Mascotte des Poilus, a 1916 novel by French pulp master Arnould Galopin. The book isn't much remembered--it's a sentimental thing about French soldiers ("poilus," or "hairies") adopting a little girl during WWI.



But it was adapted for the screen in 1918, and you can see the film in its entirety here: http://www.tracktvlinks.com/watch-la-mascotte-des-poilus-1918








The soldier on the right isn't very poilu, and in fact seems to be wearing a lot of eye makeup and lipstick, and I have been wondering whether or not this is meant to be a camp follower....(click to enlarge)


And check out the blood coming out of the dead Hun!
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4 comments:

  1. KevinJuly 8, 2012 at 4:40 PM

    What's a camp follower? I can't read French but I wonder if this poster might be promoting a theatre production of the novel, or even the upcoming film. Might explain heavy makeup on the soldier/actor.
    What does it say exactly?

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  2. Scott PhillipsJuly 8, 2012 at 8:41 PM

    A camp follower is a prostitute that follows a military unit from camp to camp. The poster is for a serialization in the magazine le Petit Journal, shortly prior to the book itself coming out...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kevin Lynn HelmickJuly 9, 2012 at 2:55 AM

    a groupie duh, now I have to watch the film.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gerard SaylorJuly 9, 2012 at 7:46 AM

    Years ago camp followers also included families and suttlers. Nowadays we have Skype and Kellogg, Brown & Root.

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