Hans Le Marin
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''Wicked City'' (French: ''Hans le marin''; alternate title: ''The Last Port'') is a 1949 French-American
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
François Villiers François Villiers (2 March 1920 – 29 January 2009) Chevalier of the Legion of Honor was a French film director. He was responsible for several films, from '' Hans le marin'' in 1949, to ''Manika, une vie plus tard'', in 1989, which won the ...
and starring the husband-and-wife team of
Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de guerre 1939–1945, Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Ea ...
and
Maria Montez María África Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951), known professionally as Maria Montez, was a Dominican motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume ...
. It was Montez's first film in Europe.Film information at Mariamontez.org
/ref> ''Wicked City'' and ''
The Man on the Eiffel Tower ''The Man on the Eiffel Tower'' is a 1950 American Ansco Color film noir mystery film directed by Burgess Meredith and starring Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Meredith, and Robert Hutton. It is based on the 1931 novel '' La Tête d'un homme'' ...
'' were the first French-American film co-productions following World War II.


Plot

Hans is a Canadian sailor docked in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
s who is having an affair with cabaret owner Dolores. When he is robbed and left for dead, he awakens to discover that Dolores has disappeared. He takes on a job as a nightclub
bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or m ...
and has a fling with gypsy girl Tania.


Cast

*Jean-Pierre Aumont *Maria Montez *Lilli Palmer


Production

Aumont served with the
Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
army during World War II and was wounded by shrapnel near Marseilles in 1944. While recuperating, he read the novel ''Hans le marin'' by Edouard Peisson, and in 1946 he, his wife and his brother François Villiers visited Peisson to negotiate to purchase the film rights. Aumont was to write the script, Villiers was to direct and Montez and Aumont would star. The goal was to show Montez "is an actress as well as a manikin." Andre Sarrut of Safia Productions agreed to pay the production costs of the film, up to 80,000 francs (then US$250,000). Aumont was to produce through his company with Montez, Christina Productions. Christina provided the services of Aumont, Montez and
Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...
; in exchange, Christina's share would be paid off first out of American box-office receipts. Filming began in Marseilles in July 1948. Approximately 60% of the film was shot on location, with the remainder filmed 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 ...
in Paris.


References


External links

* Films set in Marseille 1949 films French drama films 1949 drama films 1940s French-language films Films shot at Joinville Studios Films directed by François Villiers French black-and-white films English-language French films 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub