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À Nous la Liberté (1931)
À nous la liberté (original title)

APPROVED 104 min  -  Comedy | Musical  -   31 December 1931 (USA)
7.7
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Ratings: 7.7/10 from 2,014 users  
Reviews: 28 user | 30 critic

A famous left-wing satirical comedy about two ex-convicts, one of whom escaped jail and then worked his way up from salesman to factory owner... See full summary »

Director:

René Clair

Writer:

René Clair (story)
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Henri Marchand Henri Marchand ...
Émile
Raymond Cordy Raymond Cordy ...
Louis
Rolla France Rolla France ...
Jeanne
Paul Ollivier Paul Ollivier ...
L'oncle (as Paul Olivier)
Jacques Shelly Jacques Shelly ...
Paul
André Michaud André Michaud ...
Le contremaitre
Germaine Aussey Germaine Aussey ...
Maud - la femme de Louis
Léon Lorin Léon Lorin ...
Le vieux monsieur sourd
William Burke William Burke ...
L'ancien détenu
Vincent Hyspa Vincent Hyspa ...
Le vieil orateur
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Storyline

A famous left-wing satirical comedy about two ex-convicts, one of whom escaped jail and then worked his way up from salesman to factory owner, where he oversees a highly mechanized operation where the workers are reduced to mere automatons. Fearful of being exposed over his past, at first by his friend and later by another gangster, the owner chooses to give his factory to the workers, then escapes with his friend to the freedom of the open road. The production company for "A Nous la Liberte" was for more than a decade embroiled in a lawsuit claiming that Charles Chaplin had seen their film and plagiarized many ideas from it as he developed "Modern Times." Written by footsperry  

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Factory | Escape | Phonograph | Prison  | See more »

Taglines:

Le chef-d'oeuvre de René Clair

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Es lebe die Freiheit See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films Sonores Tobis See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

 | USA: (re-release)  | USA:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Charles Chaplin's Modern Times premiered, the original distribution company of À nous la liberté, Tobis, wanted to sue. Director René Clair refused to join such a suit, saying that he considered it a compliment if Charles Chaplin based his film on René Clair's, but the suit went ahead nevertheless. Tobis, sued United Artists and Charles Chaplin for plagiarism. The suit, with separate segments in France and in the US, went on for more than a decade, right through WWII. Charles Chaplin, at the request of his lawyers, finally settled, but never admitted to the charge. René Clair stayed aloof from the affair, and he and Charles Chaplin, whom he greatly admired, remained friends. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
[Voice over Singer]: Liberty is the happy man's due / He enjoys love and skies of blue / But then there are some / Who no worse crimes have done / It's the sad story we tell / From a prison cell
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