Dance Program (1937)
"Un carnet de bal" (original title)

After the death of her husband, Christine realizes she has possibly wasted her life by marrying him instead of the man towards whom, in her youth, she had a stronger inclination. To ... See full summary »

Director:

Julien Duvivier

Writers:

Julien Duvivier, Henri Jeanson,

Stars:

Harry Baur, Marie Bell, Louis Jouvet

3 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Harry Baur	...	Alain Regnault
Marie Bell	...	Christine Surgère
Pierre Blanchar	...	Thierry Raynal
Fernandel	...	Fabien Coutissol
Louis Jouvet	...	Pierre Verdier, dit Jo
Raimu	...	Francois Patusset
Françoise Rosay	...	Marguerite Audié
Pierre Richard-Willm	...	Eric Irvin
Maurice Bénard	...	Brémond
Robert Lynen	...	Jacques Dambreval
Milly Mathis	...	Cécile Galtéry
Sylvie	...	La maîtresse de Thierry
Andrex	...	Paul
Jeanne Fusier-Gir	...	La marchande de journaux
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alfred Adam	...	Fred

Storyline

After the death of her husband, Christine realizes she has possibly wasted her life by marrying him instead of the man towards whom, in her youth, she had a stronger inclination. To overcome these dreary thoughts, she decides to find out about him and the other men who danced with her during a ball that was a turning point in her life, many years ago. She pays a visit to those forgotten acquaintances one after the other; Christine is not only surprised to see how they have fared, but also discovers the impact she had, unknowingly, on the feelings and the destiny of these persons.

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Plot Keywords:

chorus | waltz | catholic priest | nightclub owner | mountain guide | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

25 March 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dance of Life

Company Credits

Production Co:

Productions Sigma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 124 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remade as Lydia (1941)

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Soundtracks

"Valse Grise"
Composed by Maurice Jaubert

User Reviews

A quintessential film of the classic age of French cinema

This is one of the quintessential films of the classic age of French cinema. One just has to look at the credits: directed by Duvivier, with Fernandel, Baur, Jouvet (one of his best roles), Marie Bell, Francoise Rosay... all of them at the peak of their form. And held together musically by Jaubert's haunting theme melody, which I can still hum in the nostalgia cupboard of my memory fifty years after I first heard it.

The story is slight. Actually it is a series of vignettes, strung together by the bittersweet pilgrimage of a woman who sets out to find again the men who signed her first dance card. But that is just a pretext for a marvelous set of character sketches played by a marvelous cast of character actors served by a great character director.