''First on the Rope'' (French: ''Premier de cordée'') is a 1944 French

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Louis Daquin Louis Daquin (20 May 1908 – 2 October 1980) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 14 films between 1938 and 1963. He also appeared in 11 films between 1937 and 1979. Selected filmography * ''The Man from Nowhere ...

and starring Irène Corday, André Le Gall and Lucien Blondeau. It is an adaptation of the 1941 novel of the same title by Roger Frison-Roche. It was a faithful adaptation of the novel, which began shooting in June 1943 during the

German Occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. Despite being directed by Daquin, a French Communist, it was considered to demonstrate a Pétainist ideology possibly even containing elements of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

.Crisp p.94-95 The film's sets were designed by the

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

Lucien Aguettand Lucien Aguettand (19 January 1901 – 14 December 1989) was a French art directorHayward p.205 who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Little Devil May Care'' (1928) * ''Checkmate'' (1931) * ...

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. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place around

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

Synopsis

The son of a veteran

mountain climber Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

succeeds his father as "the first on the rope", leading expeditions into the mountains. However, after nearly losing his life during a climb he develops

vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

and abandons his position to take over as a

hotel manager A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to: management of hotel staff, ...

. Two years later when his father is persuaded by a Norwegian

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

to take him on a trip into the mountains, his son is forced to come to their rescue when they run into a trouble during a storm.

Cast

* Irène Corday as Aline Lourtier * André Le Gall as Pierre Servettaz * Lucien Blondeau as Jean Servettaz *

Marcel Delaître Marcel Delaître (1888–1963) was a French film and stage actor.Crisp p.94 Selected filmography * '' Happy Hearts'' (1932) * ''Lilac'' (1932) * '' Poliche'' (1934) * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Girls ...

as Ravanat dit 'Le Rouge' *

Jean Davy Jean Davy (15 October 1911 – 5 February 2001) was a French film, stage voice actor. Career He was a Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. In the premiere production of ''Antigone (Anouilh play), Antig ...

as Hubert de Vallon *

Maurice Baquet Maurice Louis Baquet (26 May 1911 – 8 July 2005) was a French actor and cellist. He was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône and died in Noisy-le-Grand.Mona Dol Mona Dol (28 May 1901 – 29 December 1990) was a French actress. Born Amélie Alice Gabrielle Delbart in Lille, she died in Paris in 1990. Selected filmography * '' Number 33'' (1933) * ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (1935) * '' The Scandalous Couple'' (1 ...

as Marie Servettaz * Yves Furet as Georges à la Clarisse *

Andrée Clément Andrée Clément (7 August 1918 – 31 May 1954) was a French film actress.Hayward p.461 Her husband was killed in 1940 during the Battle of France. She herself died from tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "whi ...

as Suzanne Servettaz * Geymond Vital as Maxime Vouillaz * Tosca De Lac as L'acrobate * Louis Seigner as Le docteur *

Roger Blin Roger Blin (22 March 1907 – 21 January 1984) was a French actor and director. He staged world premieres of Samuel Beckett's ''Waiting for Godot'' in 1953 and ''Endgame'' in 1957. Biography Blin was the son of a doctor; however, despite his ...

as Paul Moury * Eugène Chevalier as Un guide * Guy Decomble as Warfield *

Jacques Dufilho Jacques Dufilho (19 February 1914 – 28 August 2005) was a French actor. He was born at Bègles (Gironde) and he died at Ponsampère (Gers). Life and career Dufilho appeared in 65 French productions. Moreover, he was frequently seen in Italian ...

as Fernand Lourtier * Fernand René as Napoléon * Albert Duvaleix as L'oncle Dechosalet *

Jérôme Goulven Jerome (c.347–420) was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian from Dalmatia. Jerome may also refer to: People Given name * Jerome (given name), a masculine name of Greek origin, with a list of people so named * Saint Jerome (disambiguat ...

as Un guide *

Jean-Marc Thibault Jean-Marc Thibault (1923–2017) was a French film and television actor.Halliwell p.56 He also directed three films. Selected filmography * '' First on the Rope'' (1944) * '' Cage of Girls'' (1949) * ''I Like Only You'' (1949) * ''Women of Paris' ...

as Un pensionnaire des Servettaz

References

Bibliography

* Crisp, Colin. ''French Cinema—A Critical Filmography: Volume 2, 1940–1958''. Indiana University Press, 2015. * Nord, Philip. ''France's New Deal: From the Thirties to the Postwar Era''. Princeton University Press, 2012.

External links

* 1944 films 1944 drama films French drama films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Louis Daquin Pathé films 1940s French films Films scored by Henri Sauguet French-language drama films {{1940s-France-film-stub