''Maria Chapdelaine'' is a 1934 French drama film directed by

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

and starring

Madeleine Renaud Lucie Madeleine Renaud (; 21 February 1900 – 23 September 1994) was a French actress best remembered for her work in the theatre. She did though appear in several films directed by Jean Grémillon including ''Remorques'' (''Stormy Waters'' ...

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), ''La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ( ...

and

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 ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1913 novel of the same title by

Louis Hémon Louis Hémon (12 October 1880 – 8 July 1913), was a French writer best known for his novel ''Maria Chapdelaine''. Biography He was born in Brest, France. In Paris, where he resided with his family, he was enrolled in the Montaigne and Loui ...

set in rural

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 thirtee ...

about a young woman who becomes involved with a farmer,

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

and an immigrant drifter from Paris. The story was adapted again for a 1950 film directed by

Marc Allégret Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director. Biography Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...

Production

The film's sets were designed by

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 ...

Jacques Krauss.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

took place in Canada around

Lake Mistassini Lake Mistassini () is the largest natural lake by surface area in the province of Quebec, Canada, with a total surface area of approximately and a net area (water surface area only) of . It is located in the Jamésie region of the province, appro ...

. Some post-production work was also done at the

Neuilly Studios Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as we ...

in Paris.

Reception

The film was a box office success on its release, ending a run of financial failures for Duvivier. It was awarded the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

, and was screened at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

where it was given a Special Mention. A review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised it as "stirring, full-bodied and tremulously beautiful".McCann p.72

Cast

as Maria Chapdelaine *

as François Paradis *

as Lorenzo Surprenant *

Suzanne Desprès Suzanne Desprès (16 December 1875 – 1 July 1951) was a French actress who was born at Verdun, Meuse and trained at the Paris Conservatoire, where in 1897 she obtained the first prize for comedy, and the second for tragedy. She then became as ...

as Laura Chapdelaine * Gaby Triquet as Alma-Rose Chapdelaine * Maximilienne as Azelma Larouche * André Bacqué as Samuel Chapdelaine *

Alexandre Rignault Alexandre Rignault (14 February 1901 – 2 April 1985) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films between 1931 and 1985. Selected filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rignault, Alexandre 1901 births 1985 deaths ...

as Eutrope Gagnon *

Daniel Mendaille Daniel Mendaille (27 November 1885 – 17 May 1963) was a French stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly sixty years. Early life Born Daniel Henri Elie Mendaille in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Mendaille studied architecture at the Académie ...

as Le curé *

Robert Le Vigan Robert Le Vigan (born Robert Coquillaud, January 7, 1900 – October 12, 1972), was a French actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1931 and 1943 almost exclusively in small or supporting roles. He was, according to film academic ...

as Tit-Sèbe, le rebouteux *

Thomy Bourdelle Thomy Charles Bourdelle (20 April 1891 – 27 June 1972) was a French actor. Bourdelle was born in Paris and died in Toulon, Var, France. Selected filmography *'' Roger la Honte'' (1922) * '' Surcouf'' (1925) * '' Jocaste'' (1925) * ''Jean ...

as Esdras Chapdelaine * Edmond Van Daële as Le docteur *

Émile Genevois Émile Genevois (1 January 1918 – 19 September 1962) was a French film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in mode ...

as Tit-Bé Chapdelaine *

Fred Barry Frederick Barry (born July 31, 1948, in Washington, Pennsylvania) is a former professional American football Defensive back in the National Football League. Barry played 9 games for the 1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time ...

as Nazaire Larouche * Pierre Laurel as Ephrem Surprenant *

Gustave Hamilton Gustave Honoré Hamilton (27 March 1871, in Brussels – 5 January 1951, in Villefranche-sur-MerSite ''Les gens du cinéma'/ref>) was a 20th-century Belgian film actor. He was the nephew of actor, theatre director and playwright Louis Péricaud an ...

as Le vieux français *

Julien Clément Julien may refer to: People * Julien (given name) * Julien (surname) Music * ''Julien'' (opera), a 1913 poème lyrique by Gustave Charpentier * ''Julien'' (album), by Dalida, 1973 * "Julien" (song), by Carly Rae Jepsen, 2019 Places ...

as Le marchand Bédard * Jacques Langevin as Edwige Légaré

References

Bibliography

* McCann, Ben. ''Julien Duvivier''. Oxford University Press, 2017.

External links

* 1934 films 1934 drama films French drama films 1930s French-language films Films set in Quebec Films shot in Quebec Films directed by Julien Duvivier Pathé films Films based on French novels French black-and-white films 1930s French films Films shot at Neuilly Studios {{1930s-France-film-stub