''First on the Rope'' (French: ''Premier de cordée'') is a 1944 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

Louis Daquin Louis Daquin (20 May 1908 – 2 October 1980) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 14 films between 1938 and 1963. He also appeared in 11 films between 1937 and 1979. Selected filmography * '' The Man from Nowher ...

and starring Irène Corday, André Le Gall and

Lucien Blondeau Lucien Blondeau (1884–1965) was a French stage, television and film actor.Goble p.168 Selected filmography * ''First on the Rope'' (1944) * ''Girl with Grey Eyes'' (1945) * ''Son of France ''Son of France'' (French: ''Fils de France'') is a 1 ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1941 novel of the same title by Roger Frison-Roche. It was a faithful adaptation of the novel, which began shooting in June 1943 during the

German Occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. Despite being directed by Daquin, a French Communist, it was considered to demonstrate a Pétainist ideology possibly even containing elements of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

.Crisp p.94-95 The film's sets were designed by the art director

Lucien Aguettand Lucien Aguettand (28 January 1901 – 14 February 1989) was a French art directorHayward p.205 who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * ''Little Devil May Care'' (1928) * ''All That's Not Worth Love' ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place around

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

Synopsis

The son of a veteran

mountain climber Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

succeeds his father as "the first on the rope", leading expeditions into the mountains. However, after nearly losing his life during a climb he develops

vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

and abandons his position to take over as a

hotel manager A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to management of hotel staff, bu ...

. Two years later when his father is persuaded by a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

to take him on a trip into the mountains, his son is forced to come to their rescue when they run into a trouble during a storm.

Cast

* Irène Corday as Aline Lourtier * André Le Gall as Pierre Servettaz *

as Jean Servettaz *

Marcel Delaître Marcel Delaître (1888–1963) was a French film and stage actor.Crisp p.94 Selected filmography * '' Happy Hearts'' (1932) * '' Poliche'' (1934) * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Girls of Paris'' (1936) ...

as Ravanat dit 'Le Rouge' *

Jean Davy Jean Davy (15 October 1911 – 5 February 2001) was a French film, stage voice actor. Career He was a Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. In the premiere production of ''Antigone'' in Paris, 1944, Davy created the role of Créon.

as Hubert de Vallon *

Maurice Baquet Maurice Louis Baquet (26 May 1911 – 8 July 2005) was a French actor and cellist. He was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône and died in Noisy-le-Grand.Mona Dol Mona Dol (28 May 1901 – 29 December 1990) was a French actress. Born Amélie Alice Gabrielle Delbart in Lille, she died in Paris in 1990. Selected filmography * ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (1935) * '' The Gardens of Murcia'' (1936) * '' Madame San ...

as Marie Servettaz *

Yves Furet Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fren ...

as Georges à la Clarisse * Andrée Clément as Suzanne Servettaz *

Geymond Vital Geymond Vital (24 January 1897 – 6 December 1987) was a French film, stage and television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the ...

as Maxime Vouillaz * Tosca De Lac as L'acrobate *

Louis Seigner Louis Seigner (23 June 1903 – 20 January 1991) was a French actor. He was born in Saint-Chef, Isère, France, the son of Louise (Monin) and Joseph Seigner, and died in Paris. He was the father of actress Françoise Seigner, with Marie Cazeaux, ...

as Le docteur *

Roger Blin Roger Blin (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 22 March 1907 – Évecquemont, France, 21 January 1984) was a French actor and director. He staged world premieres of Samuel Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot'' in 1953 and ''Endgame'' in 1957.C. J. Ackerle ...

as Paul Moury * Eugène Chevalier as Un guide * Guy Decomble as Warfield *

Jacques Dufilho Jacques Dufilho (19 February 1914 – 28 August 2005) was a French actor. He was born at Bègles (Gironde) and he died at Ponsampère (Gers). Life and career Dufilho appeared in 65 French productions. Moreover, he was frequently seen in Italian ...

as Fernand Lourtier * Fernand René as Napoléon *

Albert Duvaleix Albert Duvaleix (1893-1962) was a French stage and film actor. Bessy & Chirat p.138 A character actor he appeared in a number of supporting roles in French comedies and drama films. His son Christian Duvaleix also became an actor. Selected fil ...

as L'oncle Dechosalet * Jérôme Goulven as Un guide *

Jean-Marc Thibault Jean-Marc Thibault (1923–2017) was a French film and television actor.Halliwell p.56 He also directed three films. Selected filmography * ''First on the Rope'' (1944) * ''Cage of Girls'' (1949) * '' I Like Only You'' (1949) * ''Women of Paris'' ...

as Un pensionnaire des Servettaz

References

Bibliography

* Crisp, Colin. ''French Cinema—A Critical Filmography: Volume 2, 1940–1958''. Indiana University Press, 2015. * Nord, Philip. ''France's New Deal: From the Thirties to the Postwar Era''. Princeton University Press, 2012.

External links

* 1944 films 1944 drama films French drama films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Louis Daquin Pathé films 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub