''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut'' is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Radio-Canada from October 8, 1956, to June 1, 1970. One of the longest-running programs in the history of Canadian television, the series produced 495 episodes during its 14-year run"Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut"
at

Télé-Québec The Société de télédiffusion du Québec (; en, Quebec Television Broadcasting Corporation), branded as Télé-Québec (), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Cro ...

. and was one of the first influential ''

téléroman A téléroman ("telenovel" or ''annual drama series'') is a genre of French-language drama television series in Canada, similar to a soap opera or a Spanish language telenovela. In France, the ''téléroman'' genre is known as feuilleton télé ...

s''. Written by

Claude-Henri Grignon Claude-Henri Grignon, OC, FRSC (July 8, 1894 – April 3, 1976)Claude-Henri Grig ...

as an adaptation of his 1933 novel ''Un Homme et son péché'' and initially set in the 1880s, the series starred

Jean-Pierre Masson Jean-Pierre Masson (August 25, 1918 - March 11, 1995) was a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his long-running television role as Séraphin Poudrier in ''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut''."Actor Jean-Pierre Masson dies". ' ...

as Séraphin Poudrier, the wealthy but miserly mayor of the village of Sainte-Adèle,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, and Andrée Champagne as Donalda Laloge-Poudrier, the young daughter of a village resident who is given in marriage to Séraphin as payment for a family debt even though she remains in love with her suitor Alexis Labranche (

Gabriel Gascon Gabriel Gascon (8 January 1927 – 30 May 2018) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Born in Montreal, Quebec to parents Charles-Auguste Gascon and Marie-Rose Dubuc, Gascon began his acting career after joining the Compagnons de Saint-Laurent w ...

). With a vast ensemble cast of extended family and other villagers, the series also delved much more deeply than the novel into the dramatic interactions of the larger community, depicting the early settlement of Quebec's

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 C ...

region and evolving from the novel's satirical portrait of Séraphin's moral values into a complex

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

."Quebec soaps tune into life". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of t ...

'', February 6, 2003. Among others, the show's ensemble cast included Yvon Leroux,

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...

, Jean LeClerc, Yves Corbeil,

Paul Dupuis Paul Dupuis (August 11, 1913 – January 23, 1976) was a French Canadian film actor who was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and who performed in British films during the late 1940s. The roles he played were mainly as the romantic leading man. H ...

Andrée Basilières Andrée Basilières (April 14, 1915 – May 10, 2007) was a Canadian actress from Quebec. She was best known for portraying Angélique in the television drama ''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut'' from 1956 to 1970. She was born in Montr ...

Guy L'Écuyer Guy L'Écuyer (July 26, 1931 - September 20, 1985) was a Canadian actor from Montreal, Quebec. He was most noted for his performance in André Forcier's 1983 film '' Au clair de la lune'', for which he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Ac ...

and

Juliette Béliveau Juliette Béliveau (October 28, 1889 – August 26, 1975) was a French Canadian actress and singer, who starred in various radio and television comedies and dramas, as well as in theatre productions. She was also the heroine of a weekly comic ...

. Several real historical figures, including Antoine Labelle, Honoré Mercier and

Arthur Buies Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

( fr), are depicted in the series. The series ended production of new episodes in 1970, although it continued to air in daytime repeats on both Radio-Canada and

for many years. Many episodes are currently available on Radio-Canada's

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

website

TOU.TV ICI TOU.TV is a French Canadian, video-on-demand website launched on January 26, 2010 by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, currently branded CBC/Radio-Canada. ICI TOU.TV, a French-language streaming service, offers primarily French and Québ ...

. In 2016, Radio-Canada launched a new modernist remake of the series, ''

Les Pays d'en haut ''Les Pays d'en haut'' is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Ici Radio-Canada Télé from 2016 to 2021. The second television adaptation of Claude-Henri Grignon's 1933 novel ''Un Homme et son péché'' following the long-running ' ...

''.Manon Dumais
"Les pays d’en haut sans les belles histoires"
''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'', December 18, 2015.

References

External links

* Téléromans 1956 Canadian television series debuts 1970 Canadian television series endings Ici Radio-Canada Télé original programming Television shows set in Quebec 1950s Canadian drama television series 1960s Canadian drama television series Télé-Québec original programming Canadian political drama television series 1970s Canadian drama television series Black-and-white Canadian television shows {{Canada-drama-tv-prog-stub

See also

References

External links