''They Were Five'' (French: ''La belle équipe'') is a 1936 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Julien Duvivier and starring

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'' ...

Charles Vanel Charles-Marie Vanel (21 August 1892 – 15 April 1989) was a French actor and director. During his 76-year film career, which began in 1912, he appeared in more than 200 films and worked with many prominent directors, including Alfred Hitchcock ...

, and

Viviane Romance Viviane Romance (born Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns; 4 July 1912 – 25 September 1991) was a French actress. Viviane Romance was born in Roubaix, France. She began her career as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and was elected Miss Paris of 19 ...

. It tells the story of five unemployed workers who win the jackpot in the national lottery but their solidarity then proves fragile.

Plot

Five unemployed men in Paris are friends. Jeannot, Jacques, and Tintin are bachelors. Charlot (though the rest do not know) has left his faithless wife Gina, while Mario is an illegal immigrant from Spain who has got engaged to Huguette. Suddenly their lives are transformed when their syndicate wins the jackpot in the national lottery. After much discussion, which Jeannot tends to lead, they agree to pool the money. Rowing up the river Marne, they see a ruined laundry and agree to convert it themselves into a

guinguette The guinguette was a popular drinking establishment in the suburbs of Paris and of other cities in France. Guinguettes would also serve as restaurants and often as dance venues. The origin of the term comes from ''guinguet'', indicating a local ...

, a riverside restaurant and dance hall. Living on site and working all day, there is much bonding between the five but fissures also appear. Tintin plays the fool while on the roof and falls fatally. Jacques disappears with his share of the money. Mario gets notice of expulsion and hastily marries Huguette before complying. This leaves Jeannot and Charlot, who proceed to fall out over Gina, still legally married to Charlot, who not only wants to get her hands on Charlot's share of the winnings but easily seduces the willing Jeannot. In the original pessimistic ending, Jeannot's jealousy leads him to shoot Charlot dead, while in the re-shot optimistic ending the two men unite as friends against the woman's wiles.

Selected cast

as Jeannot *

as Charlot * Raymond Aimos as Tintin * Charles Dorat as Jacques * Raphaël Médina as Mario *

Micheline Cheirel Micheline Cheirel (born Micheline Truyen; 12 April 1917 – 25 October 2002) was a 20th-century French actress, active from 1934 to 1947. She was the niece of the actress Jeanne Cheirel. Personal life She married British actor John Loder (actor ...

as Huguette, Mario's fiancée *

as Gina, the wife of Charles *

Marcelle Géniat Marcelle Géniat (1881-1959) was a French film actress.Goble p. 121 She was born Eugénie Pauline Martin in St. Petersburg, Russia, to French parents. Partial filmography * ''Le retour du passé'' (1916) * ''L'imprévu'' (1917) - Hélène Rav ...

as Huguette's grandmother *

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 policeman Antomarchi * Raymond Cordy as the drunkard

Production

The script was written by Duvivier and

Charles Spaak Charles Spaak (25 May 1903 – 4 March 1975) was a Belgian screenwriter who was noted particularly for his work in the French cinema during the 1930s. He was the son of the dramatist and poet Paul Spaak, the brother of the politician Paul-Henri ...

, with

Maurice Yvain Maurice Yvain (12 February 1891 – 27 July 1965) was a French composer noted for his operettas of the 1920s and 1930s. Some of which were written for Mistinguett, at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...

provided the score.

's song ''Quand on s'promène au bord de l'eau'' was written by Duvivier, Yvain and

Louis Poterat Louis Poterat (2 January 1901 – 6 January 1982) was a French lyricist. Career Poterat was born in Troyes, Aube. He studied law, before turning to journalism. Poterat switched to a more commercial environment and began writing for local revu ...

. Interiors were shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

in Joinville-le-Pont,

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a p ...

, with exteriors at Chennevières-sur-Marne. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacques Krauss.

Critical reception

Critics have associated the film with the rise and demise of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

. The film was made in June and July 1936 and coincided with the early days of the Léon Blum government and the strikes for better conditions. Duvivier was certainly not a Leftist. It should be pointed out nonetheless that Duvivier's portrayal of male friendship gradually being eroded by a woman and by desire for that woman was canonical by 1936, so the film does not limit itself to that reading. If the men in Duvivier's film do not get to fulfil their dream of setting up their guinguette it is because, while economically they can be ''solidaires''—as one, sexually they cannot. On a first level of reading, therefore, it is sex before politics that drives the narrative."Susan Hayward ''French National Cinema''

References

External links

* {{Julien Duvivier Films directed by Julien Duvivier 1936 films Films scored by Maurice Yvain 1936 drama films French drama films 1930s French-language films Films shot at Joinville Studios French black-and-white films 1930s French films