''Bethsabée'' is a 1947 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-g ...

directed by

Léonide Moguy Léonide Moguy (14 July 1899 – 21 April 1976) was a Ukrainian, French and Italian film director, screenwriter and film editor. Moguy was born Leonid Mohylevskyi () in Odesa, Russian Empire in 1899 in a Jewish family. He lived in Soviet Ukrai ...

and starring

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

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 earl ...

and

Jean Murat Jean Murat (13 July 1888, in Périgueux – 5 January 1968, in Aix-en-Provence) was a French actor. He was married to the French actress Annabella. Selected filmography * ''Sex'' (1920) * ''La Galerie des monstres'' (1924), as Sveti * '' Carme ...

. It is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

of ''Le Deserter''. It is based on a novel by Pierre Benoît, set in

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

.Goble p.687 The title is a reference to the biblical story of

Bathsheba Bathsheba ( or ; he, בַּת־שֶׁבַע, ''Baṯ-šeḇaʿ'', Bat-Sheva or Batsheva, "daughter of Sheba" or "daughter of the oath") was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, according to the Hebrew Bible. She was the mother of ...

. It was shot at the

Billancourt Studios Billancourt Studios was a film studio in Paris which operated between 1922 and 1992. Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, it was one of the leading French studios. It was founded in the silent era by Henri Diamant-Berger. During the Second World War ...

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 ...

Henri Ménessier Henri Ménessier (1 October 1882 – 1948) was a French artist and art director.Stephens p.212 Selected filmography * ''The Virtuous Model'' (1919) * ''The Orchid Dancer'' (1928) * ''The Pure Truth'' (1931) * ''Monsieur Albert'' (1932) * '' Dora ...

and

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 Bur ...

Cast

as Arabella Delvert, A Woman Who Came to Join Her Lover In Morocco *

as Captain Georges Dubreuil, The Head of A Spahis Post and Arabella's Lover *

as Colonel de Cervière *

Paul Meurisse Paul Meurisse (; 21 December 1912 – 19 January 1979) was a French actor who appeared in over 60 films and many stage productions. Meurisse was noted for the elegance of his acting style, and for his versatility. He was equally able to pl ...

as Captain Lucien Sommervill, Arabella's Ex-Lover * Pierre-Louis as Lieutenant Testard * Olivier Darrieux as The Driver *

Nicolas Vogel Nicolas Vogel (born in Paris, France, May 27, 1925 - died in Paris September 17, 2006) was an actor and comedian who was featured in numerous films and television shows in the 1960s and 1970s, including ''The Man from Chicago'' (1963), '' Le Gitan' ...

as The Adjutant *

Robert Darène Robert Darène (10 January 1914 – 15 January 2016) was a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in twelve films between 1934 and 1959, and directed nine films between 1951 and 1963. Selected filmography * ''Le Chevalier ...

as The Major *

Andrée Clément Andrée Clément (7 August 1918 – 31 May 1954) was a French film actress.Hayward p.461 Her husband was killed in 1940 during the Battle of France. She herself died from tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually ...

as Evelyne de Cerviere, The Colonel's Daughter

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

*
''Besthabee''
at Unifrance
''Bethsabee''
at BFI 1947 films Films directed by Léonide Moguy French drama films 1940s French-language films 1947 drama films Films based on French novels Films shot at Billancourt Studios Films set in Morocco French black-and-white films Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub