Fanny is a 1932 French romantic drama film directed by Marc Allégret and starring Orane Demazis, Raimu and Alida Rouffe. It is based on the 1931 play by Marcel Pagnol. It is the second part of the Marseillaise film trilogy that begins with Marius (1931) and concludes with César (1936). Like Marius, the film was a box office success in France and is still considered to be a classic of French cinema. It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris and on location in Marseille. The film's sets were designed by the art director Gabriel Scognamillo.
| Fanny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Marc Allégret |
| Based on | Fanny 1929 play by Marcel Pagnol |
| Produced by | Pierre Braunberger Roger Richebé |
| Starring | Raimu Orane Demazis Pierre Fresnay |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by | Jean Mamy Raymond Lamy |
| Music by | Vincent Scotto Georges Sellers |
| Distributed by | Mediterranean Film Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Plot edit
The story takes place in Marseille. Marius, the son of barkeeper César, had a romance with Fanny, a neighbourhood girl and daughter of the fish salesman in the harbor. Marius then followed his dream by sailing away to travel the seven seas. Fanny then discovers she is pregnant by Marius, a shameful position in the community since she's a single mother with a father unable to secure the future of her and her child. She acquiesces to her mother's advice to marry a more prosperous salesman in the harbor, Honoré Panisse, who is 30 years older than she is. A few months after the marriage and the birth of the baby, Marius returns and tries to win back Fanny.
Cast edit
- Orane Demazis as Fanny Cabanis
- Raimu as César Olivier
- Alida Rouffe as Honorine Cabanis
- Charpin as Honoré Panisse
- Robert Vattier as Albert Brun
- Auguste Mourriès as Félix Escartefique
- Milly Mathis as Claudine Foulon
- Marcel Maupi as Mangiapan
- Édouard Delmont as Félicien Venelle
- Louis Boulle as Elzéar Bonnegrâce
- Odette Roger as Fortunette
- Annie Toinon as Amélie
- André Gide and Pierre Prévert have cameos
Cast recordings edit
An audio cast recording of select scenes, with minor rewritings, was made at the studios Pelouze in Paris on 2 and 14 December 1933 for Columbia Records by the main cast (Fresnay, Demazis, Raimu, Charpin, Henri Vilbert), except for Escartefigue, who was played by Paul Dullac as on stage, and for M. Brun, who was played by Auguste Mourriès, who in the film had replaced Dullac. It was later re-issued on compact disc.[2]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "C’est ça, parle, César, parle" (There You Go, Speak, César, Speak) | 06:07 |
| 2. | "Les lettres" (The Letters) | 06:30 |
| 3. | "Le bateau de M. Brun" (Monsieur Brun’s Boat) | 05:51 |
| 4. | "Le retour de Marius" (Marius’s Return) | 06:32 |
In 1961, 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.[3]
In popular culture edit
- 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 located above the restaurant is decorated with posters from the films Marius, Fanny and César.
- The main characters from the films Marius, Fanny, and César make a cameo appearance in the 1965 Asterix comic book Asterix and the Banquet. The pétanque playing scene in the comic book is a reference to a similar scene in this film.[4][5]
See also edit
- The Black Whale, 1934 German version
- Port of Seven Seas is James Whale's 1938 remake of Marius and Fanny.
- Fanny, a 1961 remake of the 1932 version.
- Fanny, a 2013 adaptation of the play, directed, written and starring Daniel Auteuil
References edit
- ^ "Fanny". Bifi.fr. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Fanny – Marcel Pagnol (avec préface sonore inédite de Marcel Pagnol)" (in French). Vincennes: Frémeaux & Associés. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ Rivière, Stéphane. "Les allusions dans Astérix : Marcel Pagnol". www.mage.fst.uha.fr. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Astérix – Page introuvable". www.asterix.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
External links edit
- Fanny at IMDb
- Fanny at AllMovie
- Fanny at the TCM Movie Database
- The Marseille Trilogy: Life Goes to the Movies an essay by Michael Atkinson at the Criterion Collection
