''A Man Has Been Stolen'' (French: ''On a volé un homme'') is a 1934 French

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer (; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls (; ), was a German-French film director who worked in Germany (1931–1933), France (1933–1940 and 1950–1957), and the United States (1947–1950). He made near ...

and starring

Lili Damita Lili Damita (born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré; 10 July 1904 – 21 March 1994) was a French-American actress and singer who appeared in 33 films between 1922 and 1937. Early life and education Lili Damita was born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Car ...

, Henri Garat and

Raoul Marco Raoul Marco (22 November 1892 – 3 April 1971) was a French film actor.Phillips p.215 Partial filmography * ''Bric à Brac et compagnie'' (1931) - Monsieur Verly * ''Le gendre de Monsieur Poirier'' (1933) - Le premier créancier * ''The Red Rob ...

. It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Max Heilbronner Max Heilbronner (1902–1964) was a German art director.Eisner p.348 Selected filmography * ''The Path to God'' (1924) * ''Written in the Stars (film), Written in the Stars'' (1925) * ''Hunted People (1926 film), Hunted People'' (1926) * ''How Do ...

. The film was produced by

Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...

, recently escaped from Nazi-controlled Germany, for the European subsidiary of

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

. Many of the filmmakers employed were refugees from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Pommer also produced another film simultaneously ''

Liliom ''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''. P ...

'', a romance film directed by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

. Ophüls later suggested that he felt that the two directors had each been assigned to the wrong production "had we exchanged the films Lang most likely would have made an extraordinary mystery and I a very good romantic comedy". Neither film was very successful at the box office. It is a lost film.

Synopsis

A millionaire is kidnapped, but begins to fall in love with the woman keeping him prisoner.

Cast

as Annette * Henri Garat as Jean de Lafaye *

as Inspector *

Charles Fallot Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

as Victor *

Lucien Callamand Lucien Callamand born Lucien Marie Pascal Eugène Callamand (April 1, 1888, in Marseille – December 3, 1968, in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes) was one of the earliest French film actors whose career spanned six decades of French cinema. Between 1909 ...

as Legros *

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 Old Woman *

Pierre Labry Pierre Labry (1885–1948) was a French stage and film actor.Capua p.122 He was active in the French film industry between 1920 and 1948, appearing in more than a hundred films. Selected filmography * ''La croisade'' (1920) * ''Gigolette'' (1921 ...

as Balafre *

Fernand Fabre Fernand Fabre (1899–1987) was a French stage, television and film actor.Goble p.49 Selected filmography * ''The Queen's Necklace'' (1929) * '' The Indictment'' (1931) * ''Luck'' (1931) * ''The Weaker Sex'' (1933) * ''Madame Bovary'' (1934) * '' ...

as Robert *

Robert Goupil The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

as Legros *

Pierre Piérade Pierre Piérade (died 1937) was a Belgian stage and film actor.Hardt p.242 Selected filmography * ''Little Lise'' (1930) * ''American Love'' (1931) * '' The Indictment'' (1931) * ''To the Polls, Citizens'' (1932) * ''Here's Berlin'' (1932) * ''Na ...

as Remy *

Guy Rapp Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincor ...

André Siméon André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

References

Bibliography

* Hardt, Ursula. ''From Caligari to California: Erich Pommer's Life in the International Film Wars''. Berghahn Books, 1996. * Williams, Alan L. ''Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking''. Harvard University Press, 1992.

External links

* French comedy thriller films 1934 films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Max Ophüls Fox Film films Films shot at Joinville Studios 1930s comedy thriller films French black-and-white films 1934 comedy films 1930s American films 1930s French films {{1930s-France-film-stub