''Behind the Facade'' (French: ''Derrière la façade'') is a 1939 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 Georges Lacombe and Yves Mirande and starring Lucien Baroux,

Jules Berry Jules Berry (born Marie Louis Jules Paufichet; 9 February 1883 – 23 April 1951) was a French actor. Biography Early life Berry and his two brothers were born to parents who sold hardware and settled in Poitou. The family moved to Paris in 188 ...

and

André Lefaur André Lefaur (25 July 1879 – 5 December 1952) was a French film and theatre actor, notably working several times with director Sacha Guitry. Partial filmography * ''La Vénus d'Arles'' (1911) * ''L'homme qui assassina'' (1913) * ''Ainsi va ...

.Aitken p.511 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 and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Lucien Aguettand Lucien Aguettand (28 January 1901 – 14 February 1989) was a French art directorHayward p.205 who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Little Devil May Care'' (1928) * '' All That's Not Worth Love ...

. It was shot at the

Epinay Studios The Epinay Studios are film production studios located in Epinay in northern Paris. It was a complex with two distinct and separate structures. The earliest was built in 1902 by Eclair Film. A second studio was controlled by the French subsidiar ...

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. Si ...

Synopsis

When the owner of an

apartment block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...

is found murdered, two policeman investigate the lives of the various tenants who live there.

Cast

* Lucien Baroux as Le commissaire Boucheron *

as Alfrédo D'Avila *

as Corbeau *

Gaby Morlay Gaby Morlay (born Blanche Pauline Fumoleau; 8 June 1893 – 4 July 1964) was a film actress from France.

as Gaby *

Elvire Popesco Elvira Popescu (; in French language, French, Elvire Popesco; 10 May 1894 – 11 December 1993) was a Romanian people, Romanian-French people, French stage and film actress and theatre director. During the 1930s and 1940s, she starred in a nu ...

as Madame Rameau * Michel Simon as Picking *

Betty Stockfeld Betty Stockfeld (15 January 190527 January 1966), often misspelled "Stockfield", was an Australian film actress. She appeared mostly in British and French films. Betty was the daughter of Sydney businessman Harry Hooper Stockfeld and Susan Eli ...

as L'anglaise *

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

as Eric *

Simone Berriau Simone Berriau (21 July 1896 - 26 February 1984) was a French actress. She appeared in more than ten films from 1933 to 1942. Selected filmography References External links * * 1896 births 1984 deaths French film actresses 20th-ce ...

as Lydia * Missia as Joséphine Picking *

Raymond Segard Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

as Robert Bernier * Marcel Orluc as Gérard Bernier *

Jean Daurand Jean Daurand (1913–1989) was a French actor. He starred in ''La Nuit Merveilleuse'' and ''Derrière la Facade''. Selected filmography * ''Rothchild'' (1933) * ''Le secret d'une nuit'' (1934) * ''Pension Mimosas'' (1935) - Un groom (uncredit ...

as Le télégraphiste *

Elmire Vautier ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical the ...

as Marie, l'habilleuse de Lydia * Lina Darwils as Une locataire *

Robert Ozanne Robert Ozanne (February 13, 1898 – September 14, 1941) was a French film actor.Youngkin p.466 Selected filmography * ''The Three Musketeers'' (1932) * '' The Oil Sharks'' (1933) * '' Miquette'' (1934) * '' The House on the Dune'' (1934) * ''The ...

as Le brigadier * Claude Sainval as Le gigolo de Gaby * Raymone as La bonne de Madame Mathieu *

Jean Joffre Jean Joffre (1872–1944) often styled simply as Joffre was a French film and stage actor. Crisp p.192 A character actor he played a variety of supporting roles in theatre and the cinema during his career. His final screen appearance was in the 19 ...

as Monsieur Martin, l'aveugle * Lise Courbet as Paulette * Andrex as André Laurent, l'employé de banque *

Julien Carette Julien Henri Carette (23 December 1897 – 20 July 1966) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1964. Selected filmography * '' American Love'' (1931) * '' George and Georgette'' (1934) * '' My Heart I ...

as Le soldat *

Aimé Clariond Aimé Clariond (10 May 1894 – 31 December 1959) was a French stage and film actor. Clariond was born in Périgueux, Dordogne, France and died in Paris. Selected filmography * ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (1931) - Ivan Karamazoff * '' Amourous ...

as Le président Bernier *

Jacques Dumesnil Jacques Dumesnil (born Marie Émile Eugène André Joly; November 9, 1903 – May 8, 1998) was a French film and television actor. Early life Jacques Dumesnil was born as Marie Émile Eugène André Joly on November 9, 1903 in Paris, Franc ...

as Albert Durant, le jouer de poker *

Paul Faivre Paul Faivre (3 March 1886 – 5 March 1973) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' The House Opposite'' (1937) * ''Behind the Facade'' (1939) * '' Vidocq'' (1939) * ''Annette and the Blonde Woman'' (1942) * ''The Count of Monte Crist ...

as Le concierge * Marcel Simon as Jules, l'amant de Gaby *

Gaby Sylvia Gaby Sylvia (March 24, 1920 – July 26, 1980) was an Italian actress who appeared in many French films and television series.Goble p.37 Partial filmography * ''Le ruisseau'' (1938) - Denise * ''Behind the Façade'' (1939) - Madeleine Martin * ...

as Madeleine Martin * Gabrielle Dorziat as Madame Bernier * Jacques Baumer as Lambert * Marguerite Moreno as La sous-directrice * Georges Bever as Un chauffeur de taxi * Rivers Cadet as Un agent * Roger Doucet * Hélène Flouest * Georges Malkine as Un chauffeur de taxi * Franck Maurice as Un agent * Yves Mirande as Le clochard sur le banc *

Robert Moor Robert Moor (17 July 1889 – 23 December 1972) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Une jeune fille et un million'' (1932) - Pimpant * ''Riri et Nono en vacances'' (1932) * ''Le soir des rois'' (1933) - Ferdinand Albaret * '' The A ...

as Un agent *

Henri Nassiet Henri Nassiet (1895–1977) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Maman Pierre'' (1922) * ''La griffe du hasard'' (1937) - Séverac (uncredited) * '' Life Dances On'' (1937) - Un policier * ''L'innocent'' (1938) - Gregor * ''La Glu'' (19 ...

as Petit rôle * Jean Wiener

References

Bibliography

* Aitken, Ian. ''The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film''. Routledge, 2013.

External links

* 1939 films French drama films 1939 drama films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Georges Lacombe Films directed by Yves Mirande Films shot at Epinay Studios French black-and-white films 1930s French films {{1930s-France-film-stub