La marseillaise (1938)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Jean Renoir (screenplay)
Carl Koch (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 April 1938 (Finland)

Genre:

History

Plot:

A news-reel like movie about early part of the Frensh Revolution, shown from the eyes of individual people...

Plot Keywords:

La Marseillaise | French Revolution | France

Cast

Pierre Renoir	...	Le Roi de France Louis XVI
Lise Delamare	...	La Reine Marie-Antoinette (as Lise Delamare de la Comédie Française)
Léon Larive	...	Picard, le valet du roi
William Aguet	...	La Rochefoucauld
Elisa Ruis	...	La princesse de Lamballe
Germaine Lefébure	...	Madame Élisabeth, soeur du roi (as G. Lefebure)
Louis Jouvet	...	Roederer
Georges Spanelly	...	La Chesnaye (as Spanelly)
Jaque Catelain	...	Le capitaine Langlade
Pierre Nay	...	Dubouchage
Edmond Castel	...	Leroux (as Castel)
Aimé Clariond	...	Monsieur de Saint Laurent (as Aimé Clariond de la Comédie Française)
André Zibral	...	Monsieur de Saint Merri (as Zibral)
Jean Aymé	...	Monsieur de Fauguerolles (as Jean Ayme)
Irène Joachim	...	Madame de Saint Laurent
Andrex	...	Honoré Arnaud
Edmond Ardisson	...	Jean-Joseph Bomier (as Ardisson)
Paul Dullac	...	Javel (as Dullac)
Jean-Louis Allibert	...	Moissan (as J.L. Allibert)
Fernand Flament	...	Ardisson - un Marseillais
Alex Truchy	...	Cuculière
Georges Péclet	...	Un chef marseillais (as G. Peclet)
Géo Dorlys	...	Un chef marseillais (as Géo Dorlis)
Géo Lastry	...	Le capitaine Massagne
Adolphe Autran	...	Le tambour marseillais (as Autran)
Nadia Sibirskaïa	...	Louison
Jenny Hélia	...	Louise Vauclair, l'interpellatrice (as Jenny Helia)
Gaston Modot	...	Un volontaire
Julien Carette	...	Un volontaire (as Carette)
Sévérine Lerczinska	...	Une paysanne (as S. Lerzinska)
Marthe Marty	...	La mère de Bomier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Aquistapace	...	Paul Giraud, le maire du village (uncredited)
Yveline Auriol	...	La Princesse Royale (uncredited)
Edmond Beauchamp	...	Le curé Fayet (uncredited)
Fernand Bellan	...	(uncredited)
Charles Blavette	...	Un Marseillais (uncredited)
Jean Boissemond	...	(uncredited)
Jacques Castelot	...	(uncredited)
Odette Cazau	...	Thérèse (uncredited)
Édouard Delmont	...	Anatole Roux dit 'Cabri' (uncredited)
Blanche Destournelles	...	Clémence (uncredited)
Maurice Escande	...	Le seigneur du village (uncredited)
Pierre Ferval	...	(uncredited)
Werner Florian	...	Westerman (uncredited)
Lucy Kieffer	...	Une suivante (uncredited)
Robert Manuel	...	(uncredited)
Raymond Pélissier	...	(uncredited)
Roger Prégor	...	(uncredited)
Marie-Pierre Sordet-Dantès	...	Le dauphin (uncredited)
Pamela Stirling	...	Une suivante (uncredited)
Génia Vaury	...	Une suivante (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean Renoir

Writing credits
Jean Renoir		(screenplay)
Carl Koch		(screenplay) (as C. Koch) &
N. Martel-Dreyfus		(screenplay) (as Nina Martel-Dreyfus)

Produced by
Jean Renoir	....	producer

Original Music by
Joseph Kosma		(as Kosma)
Sauveplane

Cinematography by
Jean-Paul Alphen		(as J.P. Alphen)
Jean Bourgoin		(as Bourgoin)
Alain Douarinou		(as A. Douarinou)
Jean Louis		(as J. Louis)
Jean-Marie Maillols		(as Maillols)

Film Editing by
Marthe Huguet		(as Huguet)
Marguerite Renoir		(as Margueritte)

Production Design by
Léon Barsacq		(as L. Barsacq)
Georges Wakhévitch		(as Wakhevitch)

Set Decoration by
Jean Perrier		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Louis Granier		(as Granier)

Makeup Department
Burton	....	hair stylist
Pierromax	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Maurice Barnathan	....	unit manager (as Barnathan)
René Decrais	....	unit manager (as Decrais)
Defrace	....	unit manager
Edouard Lepage	....	unit manager
Henri Lepage	....	unit manager (as H. Lepage)
Raymond Pillon	....	unit manager (as Pillon)
André Seigneur	....	production manager
Maurice Veillard	....	unit manager (as Veillard)
André Zwoboda	....	production manager (as André Zwobada)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jacques Becker	....	assistant director
Tony Corteggiani	....	assistant director (as Corteggiani)
Guy Demazure	....	assistant director (as Demazure)
Jean-Paul Le Chanois	....	assistant director (as J.P. Dreyfus)
Marc Maurette	....	assistant director (as Maurette)
Claude Renoir	....	assistant director (as Cl. Renoir Sr.)
Claude Renoir Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Lotte Reiniger	....	shadow puppets

Sound Department
Jean Bertrand	....	sound engineer (as J. Bertrand)
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound (as De Bretagne)
J. Demede	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Coco Chanel	....	costumes: Marie-Antoinette (as Chanel)

Music Department
Joseph Kosma	....	lyrics
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle	....	composer: song "La Marseillaise" (as Rouget de Lisle)
Roger Desormière	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Louis Joly	....	production administrator

Production Companies

• Société d'Exploitation et de Productions Cinématographiques "La Marseillaise"

Distributors

• R.A.C. Distribution (1938) (France) (theatrical)
• World Pictures Corporation (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Interama Video Classics (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Studio Canal (2004) (France) (DVD)
• Emelka-Filmgesellschaft (1938) (Switzerland) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT)  trade union
• Le Château de Versailles  thanks
• Luxtone  lighting
• Traonouez (Paris)  costumes (uncredited)
• Vivant  wigs
• Éditions Petit Duc  music published by

Also Known As:

La Marseillaise (USA)
La marseillaise - Chronique de quelques faits ayant contribué à la chute de la monarchie (France) (long title)
The Marseillaise (UK)

Runtime:

135 min | USA:130 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Alsace, France

Company:

Société d'Exploitation et de Productions Cinématographiques "La Marseillaise"

Trivia:

Shot at the time of the Popular Front, the credits actually mentions the fact that all members of the technical cast belongs to the French left-wing trade union 'Confédération Générale du Travail' (CGT).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Musique ancienne

pleasant historical piece

This film was an opportunity to view the French revolution from the view of the common people. Most viewers have only seen, perhaps, A TALE OF TWO CITIES or THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, so this film does offer fresh insights. However, to me, some of the dialog and one-sidedness of the film seemed as one-dimensional as the other two movies I just mentioned.

The film deals with events from 1789 to 1792 and so it really doesn't delve into the bloodier years of the Reign of Terror. It is understandable that these abuses aren't covered in depth, but to omit the be-headings completely seems rather dishonest. I'd really like to see a film that gives a balanced view of this period, but have yet to see it--and that's a shame, as it's a fascinating and tumultuous period.

FYI--From my point of view as a history teacher, it does seem amazing that within only two years of the completion of this very rousing and patriotic film the French capitulated to the Nazis.