''La Traversée de Paris'' ("The trip across Paris") is a 1956 French comedy-drama directed by

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director, screenwriter, set designer and costume designer who worked in films for over 50 years. He made films characterised by bourgeois Realism (arts), realism, anti- ...

, starring

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé (born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé), known as Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976), was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films, including '' Pépé le ...

Bourvil André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with Loui ...

and

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fi ...

. It is set in occupied Paris in 1942 and tells the story of two men who defy the curfew to deliver pork for the black market. The film is very loosely based on the short story "La traversée de Paris" by

Marcel Aymé Marcel Aymé (; 29 March 1902 – 14 October 1967) was a French novelist and playwright, who also wrote screenplays and works for children. Biography Marcel André Aymé was born in Joigny, in the Burgundy region of France, the youngest ...

. The film competed at the 17th Venice International Film Festival, where Bourvil won the

Volpi Cup for Best Actor The Volpi Cup for Best Actor () is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film Festival. The name and number of prizes have been changed ...

. The cynical portrayal of the occupation era was unconventional and made the film controversial upon the original release.

Plot

In Paris in 1942, under German occupation, unemployed taxi-driver Marcel Martin makes his living delivering parcels by night for the

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

. One evening he must carry by foot, to the other side of the capital, four suitcases containing pork meat. He goes to the basement of a grocer named Jambier and plays the accordion to mask the noise while the animal is slaughtered. Martin then goes with his wife Mariette to the restaurant where he must meet his accomplice, but learns that the man has been arrested by the police. A stranger then enters the restaurant and, after a misunderstanding, Martin invites him to share his meal and replace his former accomplice. This decision quickly turns out calamitous as the new character, named Grandgil, isn't very co-operative. He first asks for a drastic increase in payment, terrorizing the unfortunate grocer Jambier. Then, taking a dislike to the owners of a bar where the two hide with their suitcases of fresh meat to avoid policemen checking papers, he starts wrecking the place. Outside again, when they are stopped by a lone policeman, he head butts the man to the ground. When two more policeman approach, he starts talking loudly in German and they discreetly withdraw. The two drop into the hotel where Martin lives with his wife and Grandgil makes a quick phone call, again speaking in German. An air raid begins, and the two take refuge in what turns out to be Grangil's apartment. Martin is stunned to discover that his companion is in fact a world-famous painter, who has agreed to come along mainly for his own entertainment and insists on returning the money he extorted. When they at last arrive at their destination, the place is locked up. Angry after all the danger they have run, they rattle the bars and shout. The noise attracts a German patrol, who take them off to military headquarters. A German major recognizes the celebrated painter Grandgil and is about to release the two when news comes in that a German colonel has been shot. All French suspects in the building are bundled into a lorry, from which the major is able to save only Grandgil. Years later, Grandgil is leaving Paris for a holiday and a porter carries his bags to the train. When Grandgil gives him a tip, he recognises that it is Martin. "Still carrying suitcases?" he says as the train moves off.

Cast

: Grandgil, the painter *

: Marcel Martin, taxi driver in unemployment *

: Jambier, the grocer * Jeannette Batti : Mariette Martin, wife of Marcel *

Jacques Marin Jacques Marin (9 September 1919 – 10 January 2001) was a French actor on film and television. Marin's fluency in English and his instantly recognisable features made him a familiar face in some major American and British productions ('' Ch ...

: the boss of the restaurant * Robert Arnoux : Marchandot, the butcher pork butcher *

Georgette Anys Georgette Anys (15 July 1909 – 4 March 1993) was a French film and television actress. A character actress, she appeared mainly in French productions, but also some American films which were shot in Europe including Alfred Hitchcock's '' To Cat ...

: Lucienne Couronne, the coffee maker * Jean Dunot : Alfred Couronne, the proprietor * Monette Dinay : Mrs Jambier, l'épicière * René Hell : the father Jambier * Myno Burney : Angèle Marchandot, la bouchère, charcutière * Harald Wolff : German commander (uncredited) * Bernard Lajarrige : a policeman * Anouk Ferjac : la jeune fille lors de l'alerte (uncredited) * Hubert Noël : le gigolo arrêté (uncredited) * Béatrice Arnac : prostitute (uncredited) * Jean/Hans Verner : le motard allemand * Laurence Badie : la serveuse du restaurant * Claude Vernier : le secrétaire allemand de la Kommandantur * Hugues Wanner : le père de Dédé

Production

The film is based on

's short story "La traversée de Paris", featured in the 1947 collection ''Le vin de Paris''. The production was led by France's Franco-London-Film in collaboration with Italy's Continentale Produzione. Photography took place from 7 April to 9 June 1956. The film was shot entirely in studio, at Franstudio's facilities in

Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne Saint-Maurice () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The lunatic asylum Charenton was located in Saint-Maurice; it is now a psychiatric hospital. History Originally called Charen ...

Release

The premiere took place at the 17th Venice International Film Festival where the film played in the main competition. It was released in France on 26 October the same year, distributed by Gaumont. It had 4,895,769 admissions in France, the fourth most admissions for films released in 1956. The film was the second biggest grosser in Paris in the 1956-1957 season with a gross of $489,000 on admissions of 1,198,306.

Reception

Critical response

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

wrote in 1956: "I admire, without any real reservations, ''La Traversée de Paris''. I think it's a complete success because Autant-Lara has finally found the subject he's been waiting for—a plot that is made in his own image, a story that his truculence, tendency toward exaggeration, roughness, vulgarity, and outrage, far from serving badly, elevates to an epic. ... A verve much like Céline's and an insistent ferocity dominate the movie, but it is saved from meanness by a few emotional notes that overwhelm us, particularly those in the final scenes."

Accolades

Bourvil received the

at the Venice Film Festival. The

French Syndicate of Cinema Critics The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics () has, each year since 1946, awarded a prize (":fr:Prix de la critique, Prix de la critique", English: "Critics Prize"), the Prix Méliès, to the best French film of the preceding year. More awards have bee ...

gave the film its award for best French film of the year. Gabin was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor.

Legacy

The film was initially controversial in France as it broke several taboos in its depiction of the occupation. Earlier depictions had been heroic dramas and made the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

appear as almost unanimously supported by the public. ''La Traversée de Paris'' broke new ground with its use of dark humour, its depiction of cynical black-market trade, its portrayal of collaborators as ordinary people and by refraining from portraying any part as innocent victims. Later critics have noted that this picture of the era is far more nuanced than the conventional ones. The film was also important for Bourvil's career and established him as a major actor.

References

External links

*
''La Traversée de Paris'' (1956)
at the ''Films de France''
''La Traversée de Paris''
at Variety Distribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Traversee De Paris 1956 films Films set in Paris French comedy-drama films 1956 comedy-drama films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Marcel Aymé Films directed by Claude Autant-Lara Films set in the 1940s Films with screenplays by Jean Aurenche Films with screenplays by Pierre Bost 1950s French films Italian black-and-white films Italian comedy-drama films Films scored by René Cloërec French-language Italian films French-language comedy-drama films