''Le Bonheur'' ("Happiness") is a

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

French 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 ...

. It was adapted from

Henri Bernstein Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre. Biography Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including ''La Rafale'' (1905), ''Le Voleur'' (1907), ...

's play ''Le Bonheur'', which Bernstein had staged in Paris in March 1933 with

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

and

Michel Simon Michel Simon (; 9 April 1895 – 30 May 1975) was a Swiss-French actor. He appeared in many notable French films, including ''La Chienne'' (1931), ''Boudu Saved from Drowning'' (1932), ''L'Atalante'' (1934), '' Port of Shadows'' (1938), '' The H ...

in leading roles; Boyer and Simon took the same parts in the film.

Background

In 1934 Marcel L'Herbier held discussions with Charles Boyer on making a film about the actor Edmund Kean, but Boyer, whose career was at that time shifting between France and Hollywood, insisted that he wanted to film Bernstein's play ''Le Bonheur'' in which he had recently starred on stage in Paris. The rights to the play were held by the Pathé-Natan company, who also had a contract with Gaby Morlay, the preferred actress of both Boyer and L'Herbier for the other leading role.

Plot

Philippe Lutcher, an anarchist, fires a shot at Clara Stuart, a famous stage and screen actress, but only wounds her. The star, through affectation and curiosity to know his motives, pleads in his favour at his trial, but he rebuffs her pity. After he has served 18 months in prison, they meet and fall in love. Philippe however doubts Clara's sincerity, and when he sees incidents from their lives becoming part of her latest film, he leaves her. He vows that their love will continue when he sits in the dark and watches her on the cinema screen.

Cast

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

as Clara Stuart *

as Philippe Lutcher *

Paulette Dubost Paulette may refer to: *Paulette (name), French feminine given name *Paulette (tax) * Paulette Caveat - a caveat filed in 1973 by a group of Dene chiefs at the land titles office in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to gain a legal interest in 40 ...

as Louise *

as Noël Malpiaz *

Jaque Catelain Jaque Catelain (9 February 1897 – 5 March 1965) was a French actor who came to prominence in silent films of the 1920s, and who continued acting in films and on stage until the 1950s. He also wrote and directed two silent films himself, and he ...

as Geoffroy de Chabré *

Jean Toulout Jean Toulout (28 September 1887 – 23 October 1962) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1911 and 1959. Selected filmography * ''La Digue'' (1911) * ''The Mask of Horror'' (1912) * ''The Tenth Symphony'' (19 ...

as Maître Balbant * Georges Mauloy as the President of Assises * Léon Arvel as the general state attorney

Production

L'Herbier himself adapted Bernstein's play for the screenplay, in collaboration with

Michel Duran Michel Duran, pen name of Michel Joseph Durand (22 April 1900, in Lyon – 18 February 1994, in Rambouillet) was a French actor, author, dialoguist and screenwriter. He was the son of Michel Jacques Durand and Marie Exbrayat.Archives municipale ...

for the dialogue, remaining mostly faithful to the original text while creating opportunities to use visual means of expression in place of verbal ones. He did however introduce some significant changes. The background of the cinema in the life of the actress Clara Stuart is given greater emphasis, and the introduction of the anarchist Philippe in the opening scenes establishes him in the role of a spectator of the actress, a relationship which is renewed in a new sense for the final scene of the film. Cinema is given a further element of self-reflexivity in the scenes of the film-within-the-film which is shown to be 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 ...

with

Harry Stradling Henry A. Stradling, A.S.C. (September 1, 1901 – February 14, 1970) was an American cinematographer with more than 130 films to his credit. His uncle Walter Stradling, son Harry Stradling Jr. and godson Gerald Perry Finnerman were also cine ...

as the cameraman, just like ''Le Bonheur''. Filming took place at the Joinville studios in Paris in September and October 1934. L'Herbier's assistant directors were

Ève Francis Ève Francis (born Eva Louise François; 20 August 1886 – 6 December 1980) was an actress and film-maker. She was born in Belgium but spent most of her career in France. She became closely associated with the writer Paul Claudel, and she wa ...

and

Jean Dréville Jean Dréville (20 September 1906 – 5 March 1997) was a French film director. He directed more than 40 films between 1928 and 1969. Selected filmography * '' Autour de L'Argent'' (1928) * ''A Man of Gold'' (1934) * ''The Chess Player'' ( ...

. Towards the end of filming, L'Herbier suffered an accident when a camera fell on him from an insecure track. He suffered a broken wrist and permanent damage to one eye. He undertook a prolonged legal action against the Pathé company in which the director argued for his status as an 'author' of the film rather than just a technician employed by the company. He eventually won the case, and it marked the first time that a film director in France was legally recognised as having rights of authorship in his work.N.T. Binh, "''Le Bonheur'': la plus belle mise en abyme", 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.) p. 265.

Reception

On its release ''Le Bonheur'' proved popular with the public and was mostly well received by the French critics. Henry Bernstein also expressed his approval of the way that his play had been adapted for the cinema. However, after three years of distribution the film largely disappeared from sight for nearly 40 years. It was only in the 1970s that it was revived and recognised as one of the most significant achievements among L'Herbier's sound films. In February 1935, the film was shown at the first Moscow Film Festival (albeit too late for the main competition) and it received a special "mention of honour" from the Soviet jury.

Home media

A 2K digital restoration of the film made by Pathé in 2013 was issued on Blu-ray and DVD in 2014.''Le Bonheur'' Blu-ray + DVD
at Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 11 May 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonheur 1934 films French black-and-white films Films about actors Films directed by Marcel L'Herbier Films set in France French films based on plays 1930s romantic comedy-drama films French romantic comedy-drama films 1930s French-language films 1930s French films