''Veille d'armes'' ("eve of battle") is a 1935 French drama film directed by

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

and starring Annabella and

Victor Francen Victor Francen (born Victor Franssens, 5 August 1888 – 18 November 1977) was a Belgian-born actor with a long career in French cinema and in Hollywood. Biography Francen was born in 1888 in Tienen, the son of a chief of police. According ...

Synopsis

1935. Captain de Corlaix is the respected commander of a French naval cruiser, the ''Alma'', anchored at Toulon and awaiting orders to depart on a secret mission. A celebratory ball is held on board at which de Corlaix's young wife Jeanne is introduced to his officers. These include the newly-arrived Lieutenant d'Artelles with whom Jeanne had an abruptly terminated love-affair before her marriage, and in her confusion at seeing him again she tells her husband the lie that she has never met d'Artelles before. Jeanne seeks to speak privately to d'Artelles to make clear that she now loves her husband, but she finds herself accidentally locked in his cabin when the ship unexpectedly puts to sea to join the hunt for a foreign renegade cruiser. A naval engagement ensues in which the ''Alma'' is sunk. Jeanne in disguise escapes in a lifeboat; d'Artelles is killed; de Corlaix survives with injuries. Back in France, de Corlaix faces trial in a naval court for negligence in command, and he finds no witnesses who can verify his account of events. Jeanne, who has not admitted her presence on the ship, realises that only she can provide the evidence her husband needs, and she reveals her story to the court, while compromising her reputation. De Corlaix is acquitted. He is persuaded against resignation from the navy and is reconciled with his wife.

Cast

* Annabella as Jeanne de Corlaix *

as Captain de Corlaix *

Gabriel Signoret Gabriel Signoret (November 15, 1878 – March 16, 1937, in Paris, France) was a French silent film actor. He starred in some 70 films between 1910 and 1938. In 1920 he appeared in Guy du Fresnay's ''Flipotte''. His brother Jean Signoret (bor ...

as Admiral Morbraz *

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first ...

as Commander Branbourg *

Rosine Deréan Rosine Deréan (23 February 1910 – 14 March 2001) was a French actress. She was born in Paris and died in Genille, Indre-et-Loire, France. Selected filmography *'' Moon Over Morocco'' (1931) * '' The Yellow Dog'' (1932) * ''The Beautiful ...

as Alice, the sister of Jeanne * Robert Vidalin as Lieutenant d'Artelles * Roland Toutain as sailor Le Duc

Production

In early 1935 Marcel L'Herbier was approached by the producer Joseph Lucachevitch who was planning a large-scale film which could match the increasingly dominant films imported to France from America. He proposed an adaptation of the 1917 play ''La Veille d'armes'' by

Claude Farrère Claude Farrère, pseudonym of Frédéric-Charles Bargone (27 April 1876, in Lyon – 21 June 1957, in Paris), was a French Navy officer and writer. Many of his novels are based in exotic locations such as Istanbul, Saigon, or Nagasaki. One of ...

and Lucien Népoty, about the compromised relationship of the commander of a French battleship and his wife. L'Herbier was sceptical about the story, but he was attracted by the opportunity to make a patriotic French drama at a time when he saw the growth of militarism in Germany as a serious threat.Marcel L'Herbier. ''La Tête qui tourne''. Paris: Belfond, 1979. pp. 247–248.Bernard Bastide. "Rien n'y peut, qui n'en grogne: la réception des film de Marcel L'Herbier dans les années trente", in ''Marcel L'Herbier, l'art du cinéma'';

d. by D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation: * Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank. * Date of death, as an abbreviati ...

Laurent Véray. Paris: Association française de recherche sur l'histoire du cinéma, 2007. pp. 281–282. Lucachevitch had also secured the support of the French government and the cooperation of the

Marine Nationale The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

which would enable L'Herbier to give emphasis to a documentary aspect of the film, showing in detail the physical conditions and procedures of life on a naval vessel. To represent the fictional ''Alma'' in the story the navy's cruiser '' Dupleix'' was made available for location shooting in Toulon.Jaque Catelain. ''Jaque Catelain présente Marcel L'Herbier''. Paris: Éditions Jacques Vautrain, 1950. pp.118–119. Although the original play imagined a setting during the First World War, it was updated to 1935 for the film, with a non-specific Mediterranean naval adversary. The screenplay was written by L'Herbier 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 S ...

. Location filming began in Toulon in August 1935.

Reception

The film was released in France in December 1935 and was generally well-received by the French press, albeit less for the plausibility of its story than for the quality of the production, with its impressive integration of location and studio scenes and some strong acting performances. Two points received particular notice: that the film was part of a recent revival of standards in French film production after a troubled period; and that it carried a social relevance for the present day in its portrayal of military and patriotic values. Despite the popular reception of the film, L'Herbier himself remained unhappy with it, partly because he was unable to free it from its theatrical origins, but also because he felt that the preferences of his Russian producer had undermined his own sense of French authenticity in the drama.Marcel L'Herbier. ''La Tête qui tourne''. Paris: Belfond, 1979. pp. 247–248; p. 251: "En décembre 35 on a présenté ''Veille d'armes'' dont l'exploitation glorieuse en surface est au fond humiliante". ''Veille d'armes'' was shown widely around Europe, including Germany, Greece, Czechoslovakia and Italy, and also in the Soviet Union and in Canada. It arrived in London in March 1936 and had a West End run of seven weeks. It was shown in the USA in 1938 under the title ''Sacrifice d'honneur''.

Awards

Annabella won the

Volpi Cup for Best Actress The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor o ...

at the 1936 Venice Biennale.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Veille d'armes 1935 films Films directed by Marcel L'Herbier French black-and-white films 1930s French-language films