''Mademoiselle Swing'' is a 1942 French

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Richard Pottier Richard Pottier (6 June 1906, Graz – 2 November 1994, Le Plessis-Bouchard) was an Austrian-born French film director. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as Ernst Deutsch. Selected filmography * ''A Rare Bird'' (1935) * ''Fanfare of Love' ...

and starring

Irène de Trebert Irène de Trebert (1921–1996) was a French singer, dancer and actress.Larry Portis p.104 A singer of Swing music, she enjoyed great popularity during the years of the German occupation of France despite Nazi disapproval of her style of music. I ...

Jean Murat Jean Murat (13 July 1888, in Périgueux – 5 January 1968, in Aix-en-Provence) was a French actor. He was married to the French actress Annabella. Selected filmography * ''Sex'' (1920) * ''La Galerie des monstres'' (1924), as Sveti * '' Carme ...

and

Raymond Legrand Raymond Paul Legrand (May 23, 1908 in Paris – November 25, 1974 in Montreal) was a French composer and conductor. Career Legrand studied harmony and orchestration as a pupil of Gabriel Faure. In the realms of jazz and light music, he made arra ...

.Zwerin p.149 It was shot at the It was shot at the Photosonor Studios in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Robert Dumesnil.

Synopsis

A young woman with a passion for

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

is bored with her life in provincial

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

. When a troupe of swing musicians pass through the town, she decides to follow them to

Cast

as Irène Dumontier *

as Armand de Vinci *

as Raymond Serre et son orchestre *

Elvire Popesco Elvira Popescu (; in French, Elvire Popesco; 10 May 1894 – 11 December 1993) was a Romanian- French stage and film actress and theatre director. During the 1930s and 1940s, she starred in a number of French comedy films. Life and career P ...

as Sofia de Vinci *

Pierre Mingand Pierre Mingand (1900–1982) was a French singer and film actor. He was known for his impersonations of Maurice Chevalier at the Folies Bergère, something he reprised in Billy Wilder's 1934 film ''Mauvaise Graine''.Phillips p.104 Selected filmo ...

as Pierre Dornier *

Saturnin Fabre Saturnin Fabre (4 April 1884 – 4 October 1961) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''La rafale'' (1920) - comte de Bréchebel * ''Mademoiselle de La Seiglière'' (1921) * '' The Road Is Fine'' (1930) - Le professeur Pique * '' ...

as Grégoire Dimitresco *

René Génin René Génin (25 January 1890 – 24 October 1967) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1931 and 1965. Selected filmography * ''The Brighton Twins'' (1936) * ''27 Rue de la Paix'' (1936) * ''Nights ...

as Durieu *

Max Elloy Max Elloy (5 May 1900 – 16 January 1975) was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1967. Filmography * ''Mademoiselle Swing'' (1942) - Max * ''Défense d'aimer'' (1942) - Le voyageur affamé * ''Feu Nicolas'' (194 ...

as Max *

André Carnège André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

as Le directeur du journal * Paul Demange as Le chef de gare * Émile Riandreys as Le secrétaire de l'orchestre *

Albert Brouett Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

as Un membre de l'association *

Marcel Charvey Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

as Le barman * Édouard Francomme as Un bagagiste *

Maurice Marceau Maurice Marceau (1905-1979) was a French film actor.Vignaux p.242-46 A character actor he appeared in a number of small or supporting roles during the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Selected filmography * ''Moscow Nights'' (1934) * ''A Rare Bird'' ...

as Villard, le rédacteur des spectacles * Jean Maugier as Le brigadier *

Geneviève Morel Geneviève Morel (1916–1989) was a French stage and film actress.Bessy & Chirat p.233 Selected filmography * '' Beating Heart'' (1940) * ''Mademoiselle Swing'' (1942) * ''Goodbye Leonard'' (1943) * '' Secrets of a Ballerina'' (1943) * '' Cecil ...

as Une chanteuse du 'Trio' *

Colette Régis Colette Régis (1893–1978) was a French film actress.Hayward p.280 Selected filmography * ''Rasputin'' (1938) - Une religieuse (uncredited) * ''Three Waltzes'' (1938) - Sarah Bernhardt * ''La Bête Humaine'' (1938) - Victoire Pecqueux * ''Tro ...

as La dame de l'association

References

Bibliography

* Mike Zwerin. ''Swing Under the Nazis: Jazz as a Metaphor for Freedom''. Cooper Square Press, 2000.

External links

* 1942 films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Richard Pottier 1942 musical films French musical films French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films set in Paris {{musical-film-stub