Villar(II)

Villar was a Greek musical theatre actor of great popularity during the early decades of the 20th century. Coming from Sfakia, he became one of the first figures to move from stage to cinema in Greece. In 1920 he wrote and directed his first film, O Villar eis ta gynaikeia loutra tou Falirou (1920), a farcical comedy influenced by Max Linder and Charles Chaplin that enjoyed remarkable success. Although the original copy was lost, it was later rediscovered and restored by the Greek Film Archive in 1991. Other films he made have not survived, but footage from The Adventures of Villar (1924), preserved in the archive of Joseph Hepp, is considered the oldest surviving Greek narrative film. Villar was regarded as an instinctive talent who might have shaped a distinct Greek burlesque tradition under different historical circumstances.