The Strike

The Strike is a 1904 French silent short film directed by Ferdinand Zecca and distributed in France by Pathé Frères. The film depicts a strike in a factory violently repressed by the Gendarmerie. Plot The film is composed of five scenes introduced by title cards: Refusal of arbitration. The scene is in the Director's office. The workers' delegation is introduced and submits the wishes of their comrades, but the manager, despite his son's intervention, refuses any compromise. The Director's murderess. The factory is guarded militarily. The delegation goes out and announces the refusal of the Director. The workers, angry, try to invade the factory but an officer orders to fire. Several men and children are wounded or killed. The manager try to parley with the workers. A woman, who had just seen her husband killed before her eyes, grabs a brick and throws it at the head of the manager and kills him. Arrest of the culprit. In a poor slum, the dead worker lies on the bed surrounded by his wife and children. Suddenly gendarmes enter the house and arrest the poor woman. She is taken away in spite of the cries and tears of her children. Acquitted. The unfortunate woman pleads for her freedom and to be allowed to look after her children. The Director's son, knowing that his father was wrong, asks for the accused's freedom. The judges, due to the circumstances, acquit her. The Future. An apotheosis shows Labour as a worker and Capital as a rich man determined to unite their efforts to give happiness and fortune to all in the future. Justice appears and presides over this loyal alliance. Distribution The première of the film took place at the Grand Cinématographe Américain in Rouen on 29 September 1904. The film was further distributed by Pathé Frères in Spain under the title La Huelga, and in the United Kingdom and the United States under the title The Strike. In the latter country, it was also distributed by the Kleine Optical Company, the Edison Manufacturing Company, and the Lubin Manufacturing Company.