''The Eternal Return'' (French: ''L'Éternel retour'') is a 1943 French romantic

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 Jean Delannoy and starring

Madeleine Sologne Madeleine Sologne (12 October 1912 – 31 March 1995) was a French film actress. Sologne was born Madeleine Simone Vouillon in La Ferté-Imbault, Loir-et-Cher. She was married to the art director Jean Douarinou. Selected filmography * ''Adri ...

and Jean Marais. The screenplay was written by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

as a retelling of

Tristan and Isolde Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

set in contemporary France. In the United Kingdom, the film was released in 1946 by

Eagle-Lion Distributors Eagle-Lion Films was a British-American film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to distribute British productions in the United States. In 1947, it acquired Robert R. Young's PRC Pictures, a small American production company ...

under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

''Love Eternal''. It was made at the

Victorine Studios Victorine Studios (French: Studios de la Victorine) are a film studio in the French city of Nice. They are also known as the Nice Studios. Several small studios have also existed in the city. Originally built in 1921 in an attempt to create a H ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

with sets designed by the art director Georges Wakhévitch. The film's costumes were by

Georges Annenkov Yury Pavlovich Annenkov (russian: Юрий Павлович Анненков also known as Georges Annenkov); in Petropavlovsk, Akmolinsk Oblast, Russian Empire – 12 July 1974 in Paris, France),Names by which he is credited for his work ...

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 ex ...

took place at the Chateau de Pesteils in

Polminhac Polminhac () is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Cantal department The following is a list of the 246 communes of the Cantal department of France. Intercommunalities Th ...

. It premiered in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

and was one of the greatest commercial hits of the occupation period.

Cast

as Nathalie, the blonde * Jean Marais as Patrice *

Jean Murat Jean Murat (13 July 1888, in Périgueux – 5 January 1968, in Aix-en-Provence) was a French actor. He was married to the French actress Annabella. Selected filmography * ''Sex'' (1920) * ''La Galerie des monstres'' (1924), as Sveti * '' Carme ...

as Marc *

Junie Astor Rolande Jeanne Risterucci (1911–1967), better known as Junie Astor, was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''Stradivarius'' (1935) * ''The Lower Depths'' (1936) * ''Women's Club'' (1936) * ''Excursion Train'' (1936) * ''27 Rue de la Paix ...

as Nathalie, the brunette * Roland Toutain as Lionel * Jane Marken as Anne * Jean d'Yd as Amédée Frossin * Piéral as Achille Frossin *

Yvonne de Bray Yvonne de Bray (12 May 1889 – 1 February 1954) was a French stage and film actress. She was born Yvonne Laurence Blanche de Bray in Paris and died there. In 1939, she and her partner Violette Morris invited Jean Cocteau to stay with them a ...

as Gertrude Frossin *

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 Morholt

References

Bibliography

* Lanzoni, Rémi Fournier . ''French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present''. A&C Black, 2004.

External links

*
''L'Éternel retour'' (1943)
at the ''Films de France'' 1943 films French romantic drama films 1940s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Jean Delannoy 1943 romantic drama films Films scored by Georges Auric Films with screenplays by Jean Cocteau Films shot at Victorine Studios Eagle-Lion Films films 1940s French films {{romantic-drama-film-stub