Demons of Deception is a rather misleading title given to the mash-up movie that comprises Verdun, September 1916 and Paris, October 1916 as its source material. While it suits the Paris episode decently enough – through the exploits of the courtesan Mata Hari – it doesn’t fit the Verdun episode very well at all. Perhaps, charitably you could point to the scene where Indy eavesdrops – once – on a German trench and then runs back to his own trench? It’s hardly spycraft worthy the episode’s title though.
Verdun, September 1916 picks up not long after the Germany, Mid-August 1916 episode finished in the previous movie. Indy has found his way back to the allies and is now working as a motorcycle courier in the Belgian army. This gives him the opportunity to be at the front in some scenes – where the fighting is as brutal as we saw in the Somme, Early August 1916 episode – and also to spend time behind the lines between assignments. This gives the writer, Jonathan Hensleigh, quite broad scope with the story.
Much of the narrative revolves around General Philippe Pétain trying to keep men alive at the front in the face of ridiculous orders from other generals and the Commander-in-Chief of the army. In keeping with the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles theme of Indy meeting people “before they were famous”, while Pétain is portrayed as well-known and an old man in this episode (he would have been 60 in real life), he was to become much more famous (or is that infamous?) by the time of WW2 for his involvement in Vichy France and collaboration with the Nazis. Indeed, by the time he died in 1951, aged 95, Charles de Gaulle (who we met in the Germany, Mid-August 1916 episode), famously declared Pétain’s life was, “successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre”. So he hasn’t peaked here!
Indy zooming around on his motorcycle keeps the story ticking along, and a dinnertime discussion with his fellow couriers over how WW1 started is an excellent overview for schoolchildren coming to the topic for the first time. Sure, it’s a little unbelievable that, in 1916, a well-travelled student of history like Indy is asking the question of how a war he’s volunteered for actually started. Had it never occurred to him? I think it might have been better left to another character to ask, and for Indy to answer. Hey-ho.
Paris, October 1916 begins with the conceit that Indy’s father has got friends in Paris to pull some strings and not only get Indy two weeks of leave, but Remy (who Indy met up with again in the Verdun episode), as well. Indy initially stays with these friends, who are played by Ian McDiarmid and Jacqueline Pearce so, much to my delight, Indy is holidaying with both Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars and President Servalan from Blakes 7. Both are playing against type here as super-lovely people and McDiarmid, in particular, is about 10 degrees off chewing the scenery and is barely keeping himself under control.
Quite wildly, Paris, October 1916 is directed by Nicholas Roeg (Performance, Walkabout, Don’t Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth), and written by Carrie Fisher. Not that this makes the episode particularly stand out, I might add, but it’s a pairing I suspect you’ve probably never considered before today.
Story-wise, we’re in strange territory. The Mata Hari story is a good one, and the episode could have done a lot with it… but doesn’t. As you might suspect, Indy falls in love with her – even losing his virginity to her – but is then consumed with wanting to know where she’s been, and who else she’s seeing, for the rest of the episode. It’s somewhat understandable behaviour for an infatuated young man, but as he didn’t know her 24 hours previously, it comes on very fast and heavy, making Indy seem quite ugly as a person, which doesn’t really work for me. Of course it serves the narrative; that he gets to see her with high-powered men from non-allied countries and plants the seed that she is a spy.
Although Indy is dragged in for questioning by authorities who are monitoring Mata Hari, we never see her arrested and have her story progress to any great degree. That said, she does have premonitions of her death at the hands of a firing squad from time to time. So, we’re left with a storyline that doesn’t quite go anywhere – beyond hinting that she’s up to something, and Indy being hurt that she doesn’t spend all her time with him. That’s basically it. What stops it from being dragged down into something very mediocre is the casting of Mata Hari herself. Domiziana Giordano is an Italian artist and actress with an absolutely incredible head of hair and a face that looks younger and older simultaneously. This really suits the role as Mata Hari would have been around 40 at this stage and while Giordano is in her mid 30s, if you said she was 5 years older, or younger, I wouldn’t be able to pick it. The character always feels older than Indy and a ‘mature’ woman, but it’s really hard to pinpoint and adds to her allure.
So after a super-strong movie last time around, we’re back in the territory of two wildly unrelated stories being mashed up. Verdun, September 1916 is the slightly poorer cousin of Somme, Early August 1916 from the previous movie and Paris, October 1916 is a poorer cousin to London, May 1916 as seen in Love’s Sweet Song. As such I can’t go beyond an 7.5/10 for this – and even that feels slightly generous.