''The Strange Monsieur Victor'' (French: ''L'Étrange Monsieur Victor'') is a 1938 French-German

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

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959)Note that, despite attempts at correction, thIMDb entry on the directorlists his date of birth erroneously as 4 March 1898. The correct date is given in his standard biography, by Geneviève S ...

and starring Raimu,

Pierre Blanchar Pierre Blanchar (30 June 1892 – 21 November 1963) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1961. Blanchar was married to actress Marthe Vinot, with whom he had a daughter, actress Dominique Blanchar. He playe ...

and

Madeleine Renaud Lucie Madeleine Renaud (; 21 February 1900 – 23 September 1994) was a French actress best remembered for her work in the theatre. She did though appear in several films directed by Jean Grémillon including ''Remorques'' (''Stormy Waters'' ...

. It was shot at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial back ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. 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 industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Otto Hunte Otto Hunte (9 January 1881 – 28 December 1960) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. Hunte is considered one of the most important artists in the history of early German cinema, mainly for his set designs on the ea ...

and

Willy Schiller Willy Schiller (11 August 1899 – 17 July 1973) was a German art director.Allan & Sandford p.3 In the later part of his career he worked for DEFA, the East German state-controlled film studio. Selected filmography * ''Radio Magic'' (1927) * ''T ...

. The film was made by the German major studio

Universum Film AG UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ...

in collaboration with its French subsidiary. It was the thirteenth most popular film at the French box office in 1938.Driskell p.207

Synopsis

Victor Agardanne, a respectable businessman in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, secretly works as a fence receiving stolen goods. When he is threatened with

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

over his clandestine activities, he murders the man. He allows an innocent man to be arrested for the crime and be sent to a

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

penal colony. When the wronged man escapes from prison, he heads back to Toulon to seek revenge against whoever really committed the murder.

Cast

* Raimu as Victor Agardanne *

as Bastien Robineau *

as Magdeleine Agardanne * Marcelle Géniat as La mère de Victor * Andrex as Robert Cerani *

Georges Flamant Georges Flamant (1903–1990) was a French film actor. Flamant came to attention for his role as a pimp in Jean Renoir's 1931 film ''La Chienne'' where he starred alongside Janie Marèse. He began a relationship with Marèse, but while driving on ...

as Amédée *

Charles Blavette Charles Blavette (24 June 1902 – 21 November 1967) was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1933 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' Jofroi'' (1934) - Antoine * ''Angèle'' (1934) - Tonin * ''Toni'' (1935) - Antonio Canov ...

as Le premier inspecteur *

Marcel Maupi Marcel Maupi, stage name of Marcel Louis Alexandre Barberin or Maupi, (6 November 1881, Marseille – 4 January 1949, Antibes) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' (1932) * '' The Iron ...

as Rémi * Charblay as M. Noir *

Armand Larcher Armand refer to: People * Armand (name), list of people with this name *Armand (photographer) (1901–1963), Armenian photographer *Armand (singer) (1946–2015), Dutch protest singer *Sean Armand (born 1991), American basketball player *Armand, ...

as L'inspecteur #2 *

Viviane Romance Viviane Romance (born Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns; 4 July 1912 – 25 September 1991) was a French actress. Viviane Romance was born in Roubaix, France. She began her career as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and was elected Miss Paris of 193 ...

as Adrienne Robineau *

Roger Peter Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

as Un enfant * Daniel Kahya as Un enfant * Odette Roger as Mme Marie *

Édouard Delmont Édouard Delmont (5 December 1883 – 22 November 1955) was a French actor born Édouard Marius Autran in Marseille. He died in Cannes at age 72. Filmography *1930 : '' L'Arlésienne'' de Jacques de Baroncelli *1930 : ''Maison de danses'' de ...

as Paroli

References

Bibliography

* Driskell, Jonathan. ''The French Screen Goddess: Film Stardom and the Modern Woman in 1930s France''. I.B.Tauris, 2015.

External links

* 1938 films 1938 drama films French drama films German drama films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Jean Grémillon Films shot at Tempelhof Studios UFA GmbH films French black-and-white films German black-and-white films 1930s French films 1930s German films {{1930s-France-film-stub