''Shop Girls of Paris'' or ''The Ladies' Delight'' (French: ''Au Bonheur des Dames'') is a 1943 French

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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-g ...

directed by

André Cayatte André Cayatte (3 February 1909, in Carcassonne – 6 February 1989, in Paris) was a French filmmaker, writer and lawyer, who became known for his films centering on themes of crime, justice, and moral responsibility. Cayatte began his directoral ...

and starring

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 ...

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (27 October 1894 in Paris – 1 November 1979 in Paris) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur. With Lysiane Rey, he was the ...

and

Blanchette Brunoy Blanchette Brunoy (5 October 1915 – 3 April 2005) was a French actress. She was born Blanche Bilhaud in Paris as the daughter of a physician, and died in Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence of old age. Career Blanchette Brunoy appeared in over 9 ...

.Lanzoni p.110 It is an adaptation of the 1883 novel ''

Au Bonheur des Dames ''Au Bonheur des Dames'' (; ''The Ladies' Delight'' or ''The Ladies' Paradise'') is the eleventh novel in the '' Rougon-Macquart'' series by Émile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical ''Gil Blas'' from December 17, 1882 to March 1, 188 ...

'' by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. The film was made by the German-backed company

Continental Films Continental Films was a German-controlled French film production company. It stood as the sole authorized film production organization in Nazi-occupied France. Established in October 1940, it was entirely bankrolled by the German government, and ...

. It was shot at the

Billancourt Studios Billancourt Studios was a film studio in Paris which operated between 1922 and 1992. Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, it was one of the leading French studios. It was founded in the silent era by Henri Diamant-Berger. During the Second World War ...

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. S ...

with

location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

taking place at the

Bon Marché ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan culture, Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initiall ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

. The film's sets were created by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Andrej Andrejew Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

. The costumes were designed by

Rosine Delamare Denise Rosemonde "Rosine" Delamare (11 June 1911 – 17 March 2013) was a French costume designer. She was co-nominated for an Academy Award for her work on the film ''The Earrings of Madame de…'' (1953). Filmography Cinema * 1942 : '' T ...

It was the second film adaptation of Zola's ''Au Bonheur des Dames'', after ''

'' in 1930.

Plot

M. Baudu, an irascible old man, runs a small fabric shop in 1860s Paris. A large department store, the first of its kind, opens nearby, putting Baudu's business in peril. Things get even more complicated for him when his niece and two nephews, all recently orphaned, leave their small village to go live with him. Denise, his young niece, is hired as a saleswoman at the department store, to Baudu's displeasure. She does well at her job, and begins receiving both professional and romantic interest from the store's owner, the wealthy and charming Octave Mouret.

Cast

as M. Baudu *

as Octave Mouret *

as Denise Baudu *

Suzy Prim Suzy Prim (11 October 1896 – 7 July 1991) was a French actress. She was born Suzanne Mariette Arduini in Paris and died in 1991 in Boulogne-Billancourt. She began her screen career as a child actress during the silent era. Selected fil ...

as Henriette Desforges *

Juliette Faber Juliette Faber (1919–2008) was a Luxembourg-born French stage and film actress.Goble p.428 Selected filmography * ''Happy Days'' (1941) * '' The Strangers in the House'' (1942) * ''Shop Girls of Paris'' (1943) * ''The Temptation of Barbizon'' ( ...

as Mademoiselle Vadon *

Huguette Vivier Huguette is a feminine French given name. Notable people with the name include: * Huguette Bello (born 1950), politician from Reunion * Huguette Béolet (1919–unknown), French table tennis player * Huguette Bouchardeau (born 1935), French politic ...

as Clara Prunaire * Santa Relli as Geneviève Baudu *

Catherine Fonteney Catherine Fonteney (23 June 1879– 29 April 1966) was a French film actress.Goble p.386 Catherine Fonteney was born Marie Alexandrine Catherine Fontaine in Paris and died in Dijon. Selected filmography * '' Romain Kalbris'' (1923) * '' The Sec ...

as Madame Aurélie *

Jacqueline Gauthier Jacqueline Gauthier (7 October 1918 – 18 September 1982) was a French stage and film actress.Goble p.115 Selected filmography * ''Louise'' (1939) * ''At Your Command, Madame'' (1942) * '' Frederica'' (1942) * ''Shop Girls of Paris'' (1943) ...

as Pauline Cugnot * Maximilienne as Madame Cabin *

Marcelle Rexiane Marcelle may refer to: *Marcelle, a French feminine version of Marcel * 1300 Marcelle (1934 CL), a main-belt asteroid *Groupe Marcelle A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. A ...

as Madame Marly *

Suzet Maïs Suzette Charlotte Marie Mathilde Roux (January 31, 1908 – January 24, 1989), screen name "Suzet Maïs", was a French stage and film actress. Selected filmography References External links * 1908 births 1989 deaths French film actre ...

as Madame de Boves - la kleptomane *

André Reybaz André Reybaz (born 29 October 1929 in Paris, France, died 7 April 1989 in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France) was a French actor. Reybaz had a long career spanning 40 years, which mostly consisted of numerous French television appearances. In 1950 he ...

as Jean Baudu *

Jean Tissier Jean Tissier (1896–1973) was a French stage, film and television actor.Goble p.440 A prolific actor, he had more than two hundred fifty appearances on screen during his career. He was married to the actress Georgette Tissier. Selected filmograp ...

as Émile Bourdoncle *

Jean Rigaux Jean Rigaux (10 February 1909 – 10 December 1991) was a French songwriter and actor. Selected filmography * ''The Lost Woman'' (1942) * ''Madly in Love'' (1943) References External linksJean Rigauxon IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of ...

as Baugé *

Georges Chamarat Georges Chamarat (30 March 1901 – 21 November 1982) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1929 and 1981. He starred in the film ''The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered into the 7 ...

as L'inspecteur Jouve *

Pierre Bertin Pierre Victor Théophile Bertin (24 October 1891 – 13 May 1984) was a French stage and film actor. In 1948, he starred in the film '' The Lame Devil'' under Sacha Guitry. He was the librettist of the opéra-comique ''La Gageure imprévue ...

as Gaujon *

René Blancard René Blancard (12 March 1897 – 5 November 1965) was a French film actor. He appeared in 80 films between 1922 and 1965. Selected filmography * ''The Mysteries of Paris'' (1922) - Bras-Rouge * ''Montmartre'' (1925) - Frédéric Charanço ...

as Colomban * Dorette Ardenne as Une vendeuse *

Odette Barencey Odette Barencey (20 August 1893 – 4 March 1981) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1927 and 1958. She was married to the actor Marcel Barencey. Selected filmography * '' My Childish Father'' (1930) * ' ...

as Madame Bédoré *

Paul Barge Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Un boutiquier *

Jeannette Batti Jeannette Batti (1921–2011) was a French film actress. Partial filmography * ''Shop Girls of Paris'' (1943) - Une vendeuse (uncredited) * '' Le Roi des resquilleurs'' (1945) - Lulu * '' Back Streets of Paris'' (1946) - Mona * ''Une nuit à T ...

as Une vendeuse *

Jacques Beauvais Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

as Un boutiquier *

Albert Broquin Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

as Le cocher *

Gustave Gallet Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

as Lhomme *

Pierre Labry Pierre Labry (1885–1948) was a French stage and film actor.Capua p.122 He was active in the French film industry between 1920 and 1948, appearing in more than a hundred films. Selected filmography * ''La croisade'' (1920) * ''Gigolette'' (1921 ...

as Achille Vingard - Le serrurier * Jacques Latrouite as Pépé Baudu *

Palmyre Levasseur Palmyre Levasseur (24 December 1888 – 4 August 1963) was a French stage actor, stage and film actress.Aping p.234 Selected filmography * ''Culprit (1937 film), Culprit'' (1937) * ''Tricoche and Cacolet'' (1938) * ''The Mondesir Heir'' (1940) * ' ...

as L'acheteuse de mouchoirs *

Albert Malbert Albert Malbert (1914–1972) was a French film actor.Goble p.66 Selected filmography * ''The Crisis is Over'' (1934) * '' Return to Paradise'' (1935) * ''Bach the Detective'' (1936) * ''Moutonnet'' (1936) * ''The Brighton Twins'' (1936) * ''Culpr ...

as Le cafetier *

Maurice Marceau Maurice Marceau (1905-1979) was a French film actor.Vignaux p.242-46 A character actor he appeared in a number of small or supporting roles during the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Selected filmography * ''Moscow Nights'' (1934) * ''A Rare Bird'' ...

as Un employé * Frédéric Moriss as Le comte de Boves *

Julienne Paroli Julienne Paroli (1 August 1882 – 26 September 1959) was a French film actress.Buache p.164 Selected filmography * ''Montmartre'' (1931) - Mme Esther (uncredited) * ''Women's Club The woman's club movement was a social movement that took ...

as Une boutiquière * Rambauville as Favier *

Roger Vincent Roger Vincent (1878–1959) was a French actor who acted in over 100 movies over five decades. Selected filmography * ''The Stairs Without End '' (1943) * ''The White Waltz'' (1943) * ''Her Final Role'' (1946) * '' The Murderer is Not Guilty'' ...

as Un boutiquier

Crew

* Director:

* Screenplay: André Cayatte,

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 ...

and André Legrand * Assistant director:

Jean Devaivre Jean Devaivre (1912–2004) was a French film director and screenwriter.Rège p.319 Additionally, he worked as a dubbing director, preparing foreign-language films for release in France. The film '' Safe Conduct'' (''Laissez-passer'', 2002) direct ...

* Cinematography: Armand Thirard * Set design:

André Andrejew André Andrejew (21 January 1887 – 13 March 1967) was one of the most important art directors of the international cinema of the twentieth century. He had a distinctive, innovative style. His décors were both expressive and realistic. French writ ...

* Editing: Gérard Bensdorp * Costumes:

* Production:

* Head of production: Louis Sédrat

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1943 films Films based on works by Émile Zola Films directed by André Cayatte French black-and-white films Films set in the 1860s Films set in Paris French historical drama films 1940s historical drama films Films shot at Billancourt Studios Continental Films films 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub