''At the Grand Balcony'' (French: ''Au grand balcon'') is a 1949 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Henri Decoin and starring

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company a ...

Georges Marchal Georges Marchal (10 January 1920 – 28 November 1997) was a French actor. Born Georges Louis Lucot in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, the strikingly handsome Marchal was discovered in the early-1940s by director Jean Grémillon. By the ear ...

and

Félix Oudart Félix Charles Oudart (1881–1956) was a French stage and film actor.Goble p.452 Selected filmography * '' Crainquebille'' (1922) * ''Abduct Me'' (1932) * '' Toto'' (1933) * '' George and Georgette'' (1934) * '' A Day Will Come'' (1934) * '' Mer ...

.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.275 It was entered into the

1949 Cannes Film Festival The 3rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 September 1949. The previous year, no festival had been held because of financial problems. Like in 1947, the entire jury for this festival was made up of French persons, with historian Georges ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director

René Renoux René Renoux (1904–2000) was a French art director.Buache p.162 Selected filmography * ''The Pure Truth'' (1931) * '' Topaze'' (1933) * '' Prince Jean'' (1934) * '' Speak to Me of Love'' (1935) * '' You Can't Fool Antoinette'' (1936) * '' The ...

Synopsis

The plot revolves around the founding of the French pioneering

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

company Aéropostale in the years after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Led by the war veteran Carbot they attempt to establish a commercial airline that can connect the far reaches of French territory. It takes its name from the real-life Hôtel du Grand Balcon in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

where the various characters stay.

Cast

as Carbot *

as Jean Fabien *

as Garandoux *

Janine Crispin Janine Crispin (25 June 1911 – 18 June 2001) was a French film and television actress.Goble p.65 Selected filmography * ''Court Waltzes'' (1933) * '' High and Low'' (1933) * '' Song of Farewell'' (1934) * '' Second Bureau'' (1935) * '' The Sec ...

as Maryse *

Germaine Michel Germaine Michel (7 November 1892 – 9 January 1976) was a French stage and film actress. She was born in Paris and died in Clichy-la-Garenne. Selected filmography * '' The Wandering Beast'' (1932) * '' Cognasse'' (1932) * '' Paprika'' (193 ...

as Mlle Adeline * Abel Jacquin as Darbouin * André Bervil as Triolet * Clément Thierry as Didier Fusain *

Paul Azaïs Paul François Robert Azaïs (6 May 1902 – 17 November 1974) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1929 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' The Three Masks'' (1929) - Le fils Vescotelli * ''Le défenseur'' ( ...

as Morel *

Jacques Tarride Jacques Tarride (10 March 1903 – 5 October 1994) was a French actor. Biography He was born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris and died in La Loupe, Eure-et-Loir. He was the son of the actor Abel Tarride and the brother of the director Jea ...

as Macherel *

Nina Myral Nina Myral, stage name of Eugénie, Hortense Gruel, (26 June 1884 – 30 March 1975) was a 20th-century French actress, dancer and singer. Filmography * 1916: ''Paris pendant la guerre'' by Henri Diamant-Berger * 1917: ''Ils y viennent tous au ...

as Mme Viard * André Darnay as Armezac *

Pierre Cressoy Pierre Cressoy (born Pierre Jules Lazare Cresson; March 25, 1924 – October 31, 1980) was a French film actor.Davis p.196 Filmography References Bibliography * Davis, Ronald L. ''Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream''. Un ...

as Charlier * Jean Gaven as Belfort

References

Bibliography

* Dayna Oscherwitz & MaryEllen Higgins. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1949 films 1949 drama films 1940s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Henri Decoin Films produced by Raymond Borderie French aviation films French drama films Films set in the 1920s Films set in France Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub