''The White Slave'' (French: ''L'esclave blanche'') is a 1939 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Marc Sorkin Marc Sorkin or Mark Sorkin (1902–1986) was a Russian-born film editor and director.Rentschler p.277 He worked with Georg Wilhelm Pabst on a number of films as editor or assistant director. He was born in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius which was ...

and starring

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 ...

, John Lodge and

Marcel Dalio Marcel Dalio (born Marcel Benoit Blauschild; 23 November 1899 in Paris – 18 November 1983) was a French movie actor. He had major roles in two films directed by Jean Renoir, ''La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and ''The Rules of the Game'' (1939). ...

. German director

Georg Wilhelm Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

acted as a supervisor on the production. It was shot at the

Saint-Maurice Studios Saint-Maurice is the name or part of the name of places. It refers to the legendary Saint Maurice. Canada * Saint-Maurice (Lower Canada), an electoral district 1792–1838 * Saint-Maurice (Province of Canada), an electoral district 1841–1867 * ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

and

Guy de Gastyne Guy de Gastyne (1888–1972) was a French art director. He was the brother of the film director Marco de Gastyne.Andrew p.184 Selected filmography * '' Little Lise'' (1930) * ''Orange Blossom'' (1932) * '' Buridan's Donkey'' (1932) * ''Abduct M ...

, while the

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

were by

Marcel Escoffier Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

. It is a loose remake of the 1927 German silent film of the same title.Slavin p.93-94

Synopsis

At the beginning of the

twentieth century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 (1901, MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 (2000, MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu, Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and ...

a Frenchwoman marries a westernised Turkish

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and travels with him to his homeland with romantic expectations of an

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

lifestyle. However she is shocked on getting there by the repressive attitude towards woman. Worse her husband falls out of favour with the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

, who faces growing dissent from the Young Turk movement.

Cast

as Mireille * John Lodge as Vedad Bey *

as Le sultan Soliman * Sylvie as Safète - la mère de Vedad *

Mila Parély Mila Parély (7 October 1917 – 14 January 2012), born Olga Colette Peszynski, was a French actress of Polish ancestry best known for the roles of Félicie, Belle's eldest sister, in Jean Cocteau's '' La Belle et la Bête'' (1946), and as Gen ...

as Tarkine *

Paulette Pax Paulette Pax (née Paulette Ménard born in 1887 in Russia – died in 1942 in Paris) was a French actress, theatre director and scenographer. She co-directed the Théâtre de l'Œuvre from 1929 until her death succeeding Bella Rossellini. The ...

as L'amie de Safète *

Marcel Lupovici Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

as Mourad *

Roger Blin Roger Blin (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 22 March 1907 – Évecquemont, France, 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.C. J. Ackerl ...

as Maïr *

Odile Pascal Odile is a feminine given name of French origin, and may refer to: Characters * Odile, the evil black swan of '' Swan Lake'' * Odile de Caray, in the 1966 film ''Eye of the Devil'' * Odile, a principal character in the 1964 Jean-Luc Godard film ...

as Akilé, la soeur de Mourad *

Joe Alex Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

as Ali * Jacques Mattler as Un conseiller * Louise Carletti as Sheyla *

Saturnin Fabre Saturnin Fabre (4 April 1884 – 4 October 1961) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''La rafale'' (1920) - comte de Bréchebel * ''Mademoiselle de La Seiglière'' (1921) * '' The Road Is Fine'' (1930) - Le professeur Pique * '' ...

as Djemal Pacha *

Nicolas Amato Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

as Un voyageur *

Jean Brochard Jean Brochard (12 March 1893 – 17 June 1972) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' A Man's Neck'' (1933) - Petit rôle (uncredited) * ''Boubouroche'' (1933) * ''La ...

as Le chef électricien *

Yvonne Yma Yvonne Yma (1887–1959) was a French stage and film actress.Phillips p.212 Selected filmography * '' Take Care of Amelie'' (1932) * '' A Father Without Knowing It'' (1932) * ''Student's Hotel'' (1932) * ''The Barber of Seville'' (1933) * ''The Br ...

as Une Turque dans le train *

Léon Larive Léon François Larive (28 June 1886 – 20 July 1961) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1923 and 1961. Selected filmography * ''Two Timid Souls'' (1928) * ''The Great Passion'' (1928) * ''La Passion de Jea ...

as Un fonctionnaire *

Claire Gérard Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...

as Une visiteuse *

Odette Talazac Odette Talazac (1883–1948) was a French film actress.Capua p.129 Talazac was the daughter of tenor Jean-Alexandre Talazac and his wife, the soprano Hélène Fauvelle. She began her career singing in music halls before turning to the theater an ...

as La mère de Soliman *

Gaby André Gaby André (1920–1972) was a French film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radi ...

as Une femme du harem

References

Bibliography

* Rentschler, Eric. ''The Films of G.W. Pabst: An Extraterritorial Cinema''. Rutgers University Press, 1990. * Slavin, David Henry . ''Colonial Cinema and Imperial France, 1919–1939: White Blind Spots, Male Fantasies, Settler Myths''. JHU Press, 2001.

External links

* 1939 films 1930s French-language films 1939 drama films French drama films Films directed by Marc Sorkin Remakes of German films Films set in Paris Films set in Istanbul Films set in the 1900s 1930s French films {{1930s-France-film-stub