''Majestic Hotel Cellars'' (French: ''Les caves du Majestic'') is a 1945 French

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

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

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (27 October 1894 in Paris – 1 November 1979 in Paris) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur. With Lysiane Rey, he was the ...

Suzy Prim Suzy Prim (11 October 1896 – 7 July 1991) was a French actress. She was born Suzanne Mariette Arduini in Paris and died in 1991 in Boulogne-Billancourt. She began her screen career as a child actress during the silent era. Selected fil ...

and

Denise Grey Denise Grey (born Édouardine Verthuy; 17 September 1896 – 13 January 1996) was an Italian-born actress who became a naturalized French citizen. Biography Édouardine Grey was born in Châtillon in the Aosta Valley of north-west Italy, clos ...

. It is based on the

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

novel '' Maigret and the Hotel Majestic'' by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

. 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 ...

Guy de Gastyne Guy de Gastyne (1888–1972) was a French art director. He was the brother of the film director Marco de Gastyne.Andrew p.184 Selected filmography * '' Little Lise'' (1930) * ''Orange Blossom'' (1932) * '' Buridan's Donkey'' (1932) * ''Abduct M ...

. The film earned admissions in France of 1,870,814.French box office figures for 1945
at Box Office Story It was the last production of the German-controlled French film production company

Continental Films Continental Films was a German-controlled French film production company. It stood as the sole authorized film production organization in Nazi-occupied France. Established in October 1940, it was entirely bankrolled by the German government, and ...

, which was dissolved after the

Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...

Cast

as Le commissaire Jules Maigret *

as Émilie Petersen *

Jacques Baumer Jacques Baumer (born Jacques Henri Nusbaumer; 12 April 1885 - 20 June 1951), was a French theatre director and comedian. Filmography * 1932: ' by Georges Lacombe * 1933: ''Étienne'' by Jean Tarride * 1936: ' by Max Glass and Marco de Gastyn ...

as Arthur Donge *

as Madame Van Bell *

Jean Marchat Jean Marchat (1902–1966) was a French film actor who appeared in around fifty films during his career. He made his film debut in 1931 and appeared in Maurice Tourneur's '' Departure'' the same year.Waldman p.144 Selected filmography * '' Depart ...

as Fred Petersen *

André Gabriello André Gabriello (1896–1975) was a French film actor. A character actor known for his supporting roles, notable appearances included Jean Renoir's '' Partie de campagne'' (1936) and Maurice Tourneur's ''Cecile Is Dead'' (1944).Waldman p.165 He w ...

as L'inspecteur Lucas *

Gina Manès Gina Manès (born Blanche Moulin; 7 April 1893 – 6 September 1989) was a French film actress and a major star of French silent cinema. After an early appearance in a Louis Feuillade film, she had significant roles in films of Germaine Dulac and ...

as Ginette, la femme de service *

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 Ramuel *

Florelle Florelle (born Odette Élisa Joséphine Marguerite Rousseau, 9 August 1898 – 28 September 1974) was a French soprano singer and actress. She gained fame as Polly Peachum in the French film ''The Threepenny Opera'', after which she had numero ...

as Charlotte Donge *

Fernand Charpin Fernand Charpin (30 May 1887 – 6 November 1944) was a French actor. He is known for his role as Honoré Panisse in Marcel Pagnol's Marseille trilogy, beginning with '' Marius'' in 1931. Selected filmography * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' ( ...

as Le juge d'instruction * Denise Bosc as Hélène Donnegan, la secrétaire des Petersen *

Gabrielle Fontan Gabrielle Fontan (16 April 1873 – 8 September 1959) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1927 and 1959. Selected filmography * '' Misdeal'' (1928) * '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929) * '' The La ...

as Rosalie, la bonne de Fualdès *

Georges Chamarat Georges Chamarat (30 March 1901 – 21 November 1982) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1929 and 1981. He starred in the film '' The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered into the ...

as Dussart, le veilleur de nuit du Majestic *

Marcel Lévesque Marcel Lévesque (6 December 1877 – 16 February 1962) was a French film actor. Born Joseph Marcel Lévesque in Paris, he died in Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames. Selected filmography * ''Les Vampires'' (1915) * ''Judex'' (1916) * ''La dama de Chez Ma ...

as Le directeur de l'Agence Internationale *

Jean-Jacques Delbo Jean-Jacques Delbo (10 January 1909 – 20 May 1996) was a French actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1936 to 1990. Filmography References External links * 1909 births 1996 deaths French male film actors {{F ...

as Enrico Fualdès *

Raymond Rognoni Raymond Rognoni (Paris, 16 August 1892 – Paris, 26 September 1965) was a French actor and comedian. He worked in the theatre and in film (''Sylvie et le fantôme'', ''Les Enfants du Paradis''), sometimes credited as Rognoni. Biography Rognoni wa ...

as Le directeur du Majestic *

Robert Demorget The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

as Le petit Teddy Petersen

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1945 films Police detective films Maigret films Films directed by Richard Pottier French mystery films 1945 mystery films 1940s French-language films Films set in Paris French black-and-white films 1940s police procedural films Continental Films films 1940s French films {{mystery-film-stub