Blessing The Hound’s Before The Hunt Aka Blessing The Hounds Before The Hunt (1924)

France. Title: “A curious French Custom - Blessing the Hounds before opening the Meet“. M/S of a a chaotic scene in a village square before the start of a hunt; in the foreground handlers hold back a pack of dogs, in the background is a crowd of people, including several altar boys holding staffs. A priests steps forward from the crowd and sprinkles holy water over the dogs. A few seconds of spacing follows. M/S of the dog handlers with their pack of Beagles, several young boys stand on a wall behind them, one of the men whacks a dog with his flat cap. Various shots, looking between the dogs and their handlers, of the crowd of villagers and the altar boys. M/S of the handlers and their pack of dogs coming up a village street. Various shots of a group of men in hunting uniforms with brass horns hanging on their shoulders, they appear to be chatting. M/S of three hunters on horseback riding towards the camera. Various shots of the hunting party riding through some woodland. C/U of a