''First Ball'' (French: ''Premier bal'') is a 1941 French
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by
Christian-Jaque and starring
Marie Déa
Marie Déa (born Odette Alice Marie Deupès 17 May 1912 – 1 March 1992) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 50 films from 1939 to 1983.
She was married to the actor Lucien Nat
Lucien Nat (born Lucien Maurice Natte; 11 January ...
,
Fernand Ledoux and
Raymond Rouleau
Raymond Rouleau (4 June 1904 – 11 December 1981) was a Belgian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1928 and 1979. He also directed 22 films between 1932 and 1981. Rouleau studied at the Royal Conservatory of B ...
.
[Oscherwitz & Higgins p.309]
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 ...
.
Cast
*
Marie Déa
Marie Déa (born Odette Alice Marie Deupès 17 May 1912 – 1 March 1992) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 50 films from 1939 to 1983.
She was married to the actor Lucien Nat
Lucien Nat (born Lucien Maurice Natte; 11 January ...
as Nicole Noblet
*
Fernand Ledoux as Michel Noblet
*
Raymond Rouleau
Raymond Rouleau (4 June 1904 – 11 December 1981) was a Belgian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1928 and 1979. He also directed 22 films between 1932 and 1981. Rouleau studied at the Royal Conservatory of B ...
as Jean de Lormel
*
Gaby Sylvia
Gaby Sylvia (March 24, 1920 – July 26, 1980) was an Italian actress who appeared in many French films and television series.Goble p.37
Partial filmography
* ''Le ruisseau'' (1938) - Denise
* '' Behind the Façade'' (1939) - Madeleine Martin
...
as Danielle Noblet
*
François Périer
François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles.
He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
as Ernest Vilar
*
Gabrielle Fontan
Gabrielle Fontan (16 April 1873 – 8 September 1959) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1927 and 1959.
Selected filmography
* '' Misdeal'' (1928)
* '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929)
* '' The La ...
as Marie
*
Jean Brochard
Jean Brochard (12 March 1893 – 17 June 1972) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1966.
Selected filmography
* '' A Man's Neck'' (1933) - Petit rôle (uncredited)
* ''Boubouroche'' (1933)
* ''La ...
as Thomas
*
Bernard Blier
Bernard Blier (11 January 1916 – 29 March 1989) was a French character actor.
He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his father, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute, was posted at the time.
Life and career
His rotund features and ...
as Le maitre d'hôtel
*
Charles Granval
Charles Granval (born Charles Louis Gribouval; December 21, 1882 – July 28, 1943) was a French stage and film actor.Macdonald p.244 He was Jean-Pierre Granval's father.
Selected filmography
* '' Golgotha'' (1935)
* ''La belle équipe'' (1936) ...
as De Lormel, père
*
Marcel Maupi
Marcel Maupi, stage name of Marcel Louis Alexandre Barberin or Maupi, (6 November 1881, Marseille – 4 January 1949, Antibes) was a French actor.
Selected filmography
* ''Dance Hall'' (1931)
* '' Marius'' (1931)
* '' Fanny'' (1932)
* '' The Iro ...
as Mélik
*
Anthony Gildès
Anthony Gildès (13 August 1856 – 6 October 1941) was a French actor.
Anthony Gildès was born Anatole Gleizes in Metz, France. He died in Paris at age 85.
Selected filmography
* '' The Zone of Death'' (1917)
* '' The Torture of Silence'' (191 ...
as Le facteur
*
Louis Salou
Louis Vincent Goulven Salou (23 April 1902 – 12 October 1948) was a French stage and film actor.
Louis was born in Oissel and died in Fontenay-aux-Roses.
Selected filmography
* ''First Ball'' (1941)
* '' The Benefactor'' (1942)
* ''Bolero' ...
as François
References
Bibliography
* Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.
External links
*
1941 films
French comedy films
1941 comedy films
1940s French-language films
Films directed by Christian-Jaque
French black-and-white films
1940s French films
{{1940s-France-film-stub