Marius (1931 film)

1931 film

Marius

Directed by| Alexander Korda
Written by| Marcel Pagnol
Based on| Marius
1929 play
by Marcel Pagnol
Produced by| Robert Kane
Marcel Pagnol
Starring| Raimu
Pierre Fresnay
Orane Demazis
Fernand Charpin
Alida Rouffe
Paul Dullac
Alexandre Mihalesco
Robert Vattier
Édouard Delmont
Milly Mathis
Marcel Maupi
Cinematography| Theodore J. Pahle
Edited by| Roger Mercanton
Music by| Francis Gromon
Distributed by| Les Films Paramount

Release date

* 10 October 1931 (1931-10-10)

Running time

| 127 minutes
Country| France
Language| French

Marius is a 1931 French drama film directed by Alexander Korda. It is based on the 1929 play of the same title by Marcel Pagnol. The film is a part of the Marseille Trilogy which includes the films Fanny (Marius's ex-fiancée) and César (Marius's father). The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[1] The restored film was also given a limited re-release in the United States by Janus Films on 4 January 2017, first premiering at Film Forum.[2]

The film was made by Korda for the French subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. A separate Swedish-language version Longing for the Sea by John W. Brunius was also released in 1931 and a German-language version The Golden Anchor, also directed by Korda, was released the following year.

## Plot

[edit]

The film takes place mostly in the waterfront bar of César, Marius's father. Marius works in the bar and his good friend since childhood, Fanny, works outside the bar selling cockles. Marius has a hidden desire to travel to exotic places with the ship crews that depart from the docks of Marseille. This desire becomes exposed when a rich older man (Panisse) proposes to Fanny and Marius gets jealous. Marius' jealousy of Panisse is the first indication of the secret feelings that he has for her, but much to his surprise, the feelings are reciprocated by Fanny. She confesses that she loves Marius prompting him to reveal his plans of traveling the world to her, noting that being the wife of a man at sea is not a desirable life. After a few nights, it is discovered that they have slept together and Marius's father and Fanny's mother convince him to marry her. Marius becomes noticeably melancholy after proposing to Fanny until a few days later, the date of departure of a boat on which Marius was supposed to crew. Fanny, realizing that Marius is not truly happy being with her, decides to encourage him to leave. She helps distract his father while Marius sneaks onto the boat.

## Cast

[edit]

* Raimu as César Olivier
* Pierre Fresnay as Marius
* Orane Demazis as Fanny
* Fernand Charpin as Honoré Panisse
* Alida Rouffe as Honorine Cabanis
* Paul Dullac as Félix Escartefigue
* Alexandre Mihalesco as Piquoiseau
* Robert Vattier as Albert Brun
* Édouard Delmont as Le Goelec
* Milly Mathis as Tante Claudine Foulon
* Marcel Maupi as Innocent Mangiapan Le Chauffeur Du Ferry-Boat
* Lucien Callamand as Le Quartier-Maitre Du Ferry-Boat
* Queret as Felicite
* Valentine Ribe as Un Client / A Customer
* Vassy as Un Arabe

## Cast recordings

[edit]

An audio cast recording of select scenes, with minor rewritings, was made at the studios Pelouze in Paris in March 1932 and on 2 and 14 December 1933 for Columbia Records by the main cast (Fresnay, Demazis, Raimu, Charpin, Dullac, Vattier, Henri Vilbert). It was later re-issued on compact disc.[3]

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "La leçon de bistrot" (The Bartending Lesson)| 03:11
2.| "Le retour de M. Brun" (Monsieur Brun’s Return)| 03:15
3.| "Je sors" (I’m Going Out)| 02:58
4.| "Pauvre Félicité" (Poor Félicité)| 03:13
5.| "Je t’aime bien, Papa" (I Like You Very Much, Papa)| 06:33
6.| "La partie de cartes" (The Card Game)| 06:11
7.| "Le petit déjeuner et l’histoire de Zoé" (The Breakfast and Zoé’s Story)| 05:57

In 1960, Pagnol’s distribution company, the Compagnie méditerranéenne de films, published the film soundtrack on disc, interspersed with narrative comments and descriptions spoken by Pagnol. In complement came a reading of his preface to the play written for the publication of his complete works, later collected in the volume Confidences in 1981; and of recollections about the production of the film, later published as part of the augmented edition of his 1934 essay Cinématurgie de Paris. It was re-issued on CD by Frémeaux & Associés, in their “Librairie sonore” series.[4]

## In popular culture

[edit]

* Port of Seven Seas is James Whale's remake of Marius and Fanny.[5]
* The famed restaurateur and founder of California cuisine, Alice Waters, was so taken by this film that she named her Berkeley restaurant "Chez Panisse". The café upstairs from the restaurant is decorated with posters from the films Marius, Fanny, and César.[6]
* The main characters from the films Marius, Fanny and César make a cameo appearance in the Asterix comic book Asterix and the Banquet. The card playing scene in the comic book is a reference to a similar scene in this film.[7][8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Cannes Classics 2015". Cannes Film Festival. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
2. ^ Srisavasdi, Greg (3 January 2017). "Marcel Pagnol's 'Marseille Trilogy' Hits The Film Forum". Hollywood Outbreak. Hollywood Outbreak. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
3. ^ "Notice bibliographique — Le théâtre parisien de Sarah Bernhardt à Sacha Guitry". BnF Catalogue général (in French). Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
4. ^ "Marius – Marcel Pagnol (préface sonore inédite)" (in French). Vincennes: Frémeaux & Associés. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
5. ^ "Port of Seven Seas (1938) - IMDb". Akas.imdb.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
6. ^ "Fanny (1932)". Retrieved 16 March 2018 - via www.imdb.com.
7. ^ Rivière, Stéphane. "Les allusions dans Astérix : Marcel Pagnol". www.mage.fst.uha.fr. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
8. ^ "Astérix – Page introuvable". www.asterix.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Marius at IMDb
* Marius at AllMovie
* Marius at the TCM Movie Database
* The Marseille Trilogy at Box Office Mojo
* Marius at Rotten Tomatoes
* Vidéo of the movie
* The Marseille Trilogy: Life Goes to the Movies an essay by Michael Atkinson at the Criterion Collection

* v
* t
* e

Films by Alexander Korda

As director|

* Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914)
* The Duped Journalist (1914)
* Tutyu and Totyo (1914)
* Lyon Lea (1915)
* The Officer's Swordknot (1915)
* White Nights (1916)
* The Grandmother (1916)
* Tales of the Typewriter (1916)
* The Man with Two Hearts (1916)
* The One Million Pound Note (1916)
* Cyclamen (1916)
* Struggling Hearts (1916)
* The Laughing Saskia (1916)
* Miska the Magnate (1916)
* St. Peter's Umbrella (1917)
* The Stork Caliph (1917)
* Magic (1917)
* Harrison and Barrison (1917)
* Faun (1918)
* The Man with the Golden Touch (1918)
* Mary Ann (1918)
* Ave Caesar! (1919)
* White Rose (1919)
* Yamata (1919)
* Man of Gold (1919)
* Neither at Home or Abroad (1919)
* Number 111 (1919)
* The Prince and the Pauper (1920)
* Masters of the Sea (1922)
* A Vanished World (1922)
* Samson and Delilah (1922)
* The Unknown Tomorrow (1923)
* Everybody's Woman (1924)
* Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924)
* Dancing Mad (1925)
* Madame Wants No Children (1926)
* A Modern Dubarry (1927)
* The Stolen Bride (1927)
* The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)
* Yellow Lily (1928)
* Night Watch (1928)
* Love and the Devil (1929)
* The Squall (1929)
* Her Private Life (1929)
* Lilies of the Field (1930)
* Women Everywhere (1930)
* The Princess and the Plumber (1930)
* The Men Around Lucy (1931)
* Rive gauche (1931)
* Marius (1931)
* Longing for the Sea (1931)
* The Golden Anchor (1932)
* Service for Ladies (1932)
* Wedding Rehearsal (1932)
* The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
* La dame de chez Maxim's (1933)
* The Girl from Maxim's (1933)
* The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
* Rembrandt (1936)
* That Hamilton Woman (1941)
* Perfect Strangers (1945)
* An Ideal Husband (1947)

As producer only|

* Men of Tomorrow (1932)
* That Night in London (1932)
* Women Who Play (1932)
* Strange Evidence (1933)
* Counsel's Opinion (1933)
* Cash (1933)
* Catherine the Great (1934)
* The Private Life of the Gannets (1934) (short)
* The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
* Things Are Looking Up (1935)
* Sanders of the River (1935)
* Wharves and Strays (1935) (short)
* The Ghost Goes West (1935)
* Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty (1936) (short)
* The Fox Hunt (1936)
* Things to Come (1936)
* I Stand Condemned (1936)
* Men Are Not Gods (1936)
* Forget Me Not (1936)
* The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
* Fire Over England (1937)
* I, Claudius (1937) (unfinished)
* Dark Journey (1937)
* Elephant Boy (1937)
* Farewell Again (1937)
* Storm in a Teacup (1937)
* Action for Slander (1937)
* Knight Without Armour (1937)
* The Squeaker (1937)
* The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937)
* Paradise for Two (1937)
* The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
* The Drum (1938)
* South Riding (1938)
* The Challenge (1938)
* Prison Without Bars (1938)
* Q Planes (1939)
* The Four Feathers (1939)
* The Rebel Son (1939)
* The Spy in Black (1939)
* The Lion Has Wings (1939)
* Over the Moon (1939)
* 21 Days (1940)
* Conquest of the Air (1940)
* The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
* Old Bill and Son (1941)
* Lydia (1941)
* To Be or Not to Be (1942)
* Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942)
* The Biter Bit (1943) (short)
* The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
* A Man About the House (1947)
* Mine Own Executioner (1947)
* Night Beat (1948)
* Anna Karenina (1948)
* The Winslow Boy (1948)
* The Fallen Idol (1948)
* Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
* That Dangerous Age (1949)
* The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949)
* Saints and Sinners (1949)
* The Third Man (1949)
* The Cure for Love (1950)
* The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
* The Angel with the Trumpet (1950)
* The Bridge of Time (1950) (short documentary)
* My Daughter Joy (1950)
* State Secret (1950)
* The Wooden Horse (1950)
* Seven Days to Noon (1950)
* Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
* The Wonder Kid (1951)
* Mr. Denning Drives North (1952)
* Outcast of the Islands (1952)
* Home at Seven (1952)
* Who Goes There! (1952)
* Cry. the Beloved Country (1952)
* Edinburgh (1952) (short documentary)
* Road to Canterbury (1952) (short documentary)
* The Sound Barrier (1952)
* The Holly and the Ivy (1952)
* The Ringer (1953)
* Folly to Be Wise (1953)
* Twice Upon a Time (1953)
* The Captain's Paradise (1953)
* The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953)
* The Man Between (1953)
* The Heart of the Matter (1954)
* Hobson's Choice (1954)
* The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
* The Teckman Mystery (1954)
* The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)
* Three Cases of Murder (1955)
* A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
* The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
* Summertime (1955)
* Storm Over the Nile (1955)
* Richard III (1955)
* Smiley (1956)

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