''Folies Bergère de Paris'' is a 1935 American musical comedy film produced by Darryl Zanuck for 20th Century Films, directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

, Merle Oberon and Ann Southern. At the 8th Academy Awards, the “Straw Hat” number, choreographed by

Dave Gould Dave Gould (born Dezső Guttmann; March 11, 1899 - June 3, 1969) was a Hungarian-American choreographer and dance director. He is notable as one of the three people to win the short-lived Academy Award for Best Dance Direction The Academy Awards ...

, won the short-lived Academy Award for Best Dance Direction, sharing the honor with “I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'” from ''

Broadway Melody of 1936 ''Broadway Melody of 1936'' is a musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site ...

''. The film, based on the 1934 play ''The Red Cat'' by

Rudolph Lothar Rudolf Lothar ú:dolf ló:tar(born Rudolf Lothar Spitzer; 25 February 1865 – 2 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born Austrian writer, playwright, critic and essayist. He was born and died in Budapest. Literary works * 1891 ''Der verschleierte ...

and Hans Adler, is a story of mistaken identity, with Maurice Chevalier playing both a music-hall star and a business tycoon who resembles him. This was Chevalier’s last film in Hollywood for twenty years, and reprised familiar themes such as the straw hat and a rendering of the French song "

Valentine A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...

". This is also the last film to be distributed by Twentieth Century Pictures before it merged with

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 ...

in 1935 to form

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Zanuck simultaneously produced a French-language version of the story, also directed by Roy Del Ruth, called
L'homme des Folies Bergère
'. It stars Chevalier and

Natalie Paley Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley (russian: Наталья Павловна Палей; 5 December 1905 – 27 December 1981) was a Russian aristocrat who was a non-dynastic member of the Romanov family. A daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich ...

and Sim Viva. Because that film was intended for the French market, they shot scenes showing chorus girls bare breasted. When censor Joseph Breen heard of it, he insisted that the Production Code be enforced even in a film destined for another country. The

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

catalog site describes Zanuck's losing battle with the censors. ''The Red Cat'', which was produced for the Broadway stage by Zanuck, ran for only 13 performances, but the studio benefited from four film adaptations. The third and fourth versions were in Technicolor, these being '' That Night in Rio,'' (1941) directed by Irving Cummings (and starring Don Ameche, Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda) followed by '' On the Riviera'' (1951), directed by Walter Lang (and starring

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

, Gene Tierney and Corinne Calvet).

Cast

as Eugene Charlier / Baron Fernand Cassini * Ann Sothern as Mimi * Merle Oberon as Baroness Genevieve Cassini * Eric Blore as Francois * Ferdinand Munier as Morrisot *

Walter Byron Jacob Walter "Wally" Byron (Jacob Valdimar Björnsson;September 2, 1894 – December 22, 1971) was an Icelandic-Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was the goaltender for the Winnipeg Falcons, the Canadian ...

as Marquis René de Lac * Lumsden Hare as Gustave * Robert Greig as Henri * Ferdinand Gottschalk as Perishot * Halliwell Hobbes as Monsieur Paulet * Georges Renavent as Premier of France * Phillip Dare as Victor *

Frank McGlynn Sr. Frank McGlynn Sr. (October 26, 1866 – May 18, 1951) was an American stage and screen actor who, in a career that spanned more than half a century, is best known for his convincing impersonations and performances as Abraham Lincoln in both ...

as Joseph * Barbara Leonard as Toinette * Olin Howland as Stage Manager

References

* Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 41

External links

*
Folies Bergère de Paris
at AFI catalog
L'homme des Folies Bergère
at AFI catalog * *
L'homme des Folies Bergère
' at the TCM.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Folies Bergere de Paris 1935 musical comedy films 1935 films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films scored by Alfred Newman Films directed by Roy Del Ruth United Artists films Twentieth Century Pictures films American musical comedy films Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck American multilingual films 1935 multilingual films 1930s American films

Cast

See also

References

External links