''La Marseillaise'' is a French film of 1938, directed by

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

. A vast political, social, and military panorama of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

up to the autumn of 1792, its many episodes range from the life of ordinary working people through the committed bourgeois struggling for change up to those in the upper echelons of society defending the status quo.

Plot

Centred on characters from the rebellious city of

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 ...

, most of the great events of the Revolution from 1789 to 1792 occur offstage. In Marseille, citizens capture the royal fortress of Fort Saint-Jean and set up a revolutionary council. When war is declared against Austria in April 1792, the city raises a force of 500 volunteers who march to Paris. Entertained there to a banquet, a man from Alsace sings a patriotic ballad which moves the men from Marseille. Adopting it as their marching song, it is soon known as

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

. In July Prussia joins forces with Austria and the people, enraged by the threats in the

Brunswick Manifesto The Brunswick Manifesto was a proclamation issued by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Allied Army (principally Austrian and Prussian), on 25 July 1792 to the population of Paris, France during the War of the First Co ...

, storm the Tuileries Palace, making prisoners of the King and Queen. A volunteer army then marches east to face the highly professional Prussian forces and in September, to the astonishment of the world, beats them at

Valmy Valmy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. Geography The town stands on the west flank of the Forest of Argonne, Argonne massif, midway between Verdun-sur ...

. Fictional characters and happenings are mixed in with historical characters and actual events. While careful to show genuine revolutionaries who wanted constitutional change rather than mob violence or anarchy, as well as privileged people who accepted the need for ordered change, Renoir often uses members of the public to express the ferment of ideas that gripped France.

Reception

''La Marseillaise'', while not one of Renoir's better-known films, has received positive reviews from today's critics.

Cast

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first ...

as King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

Lise Delamare Lise Delamare (born Jolyse Effrey Jeanne Delamare; 9 April 1913 – 25 July 2006) was a French stage and film actress. Partial filmography * ''George and Georgette'' (1934) * ''Les précieuses ridicules'' (1934) * ''Pension Mimosas'' (1935) - ...

as Queen

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...

* Germaine Lefebvre as

Madame Élisabeth Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

, the King's sister *

Louis Jouvet Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker. Early life Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist. He receive ...

Pierre Louis Roederer Comte Pierre Louis Roederer (15 February 1754 – 17 December 1835) was a French politician, economist, and historian, politically active in the era of the French Revolution and First French Republic. Roederer's son, Baron Antoine Marie Roeder ...

Georges Spanelly Georges Spanelly (1899–1979) was a French actor. In 1948 he starred in the film ''The Lame Devil (film), The Lame Devil'' under Sacha Guitry. Filmography External links

* French male film actors 1899 births 1979 deaths Place of birt ...

as La Chesnaye, commander of the Palace guard *

Léon Larive Léon François Larive (28 June 1886 – 20 July 1961) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1923 and 1961. Selected filmography * ''Two Timid Souls'' (1928) * ''The Great Passion'' (1928) * ''La Passion de Jea ...

as Picard, the King's valet * Elisa Ruis as the Princesse de Lamballe * William Aguet as de La Rochefoucauld

References

External links

* 1938 films 1930s historical drama films French historical drama films 1930s French-language films French Revolution films French black-and-white films Films directed by Jean Renoir Films set in the 1780s Films set in 1792 French films based on actual events Cultural depictions of Louis XVI Cultural depictions of Marie Antoinette 1938 drama films Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1930s French films La Marseillaise {{1930s-France-film-stub