La fin du jour (1939)

Aged penniless actors are living in a old people's home. They always talk about their past glory or failures. One day Raphael Saint-Clair comes; he has been a famous actor and had a lot of ... See full summary »

Director:

Julien Duvivier

Writers:

Julien Duvivier, Charles Spaak

Stars:

Victor Francen, Michel Simon, Louis Jouvet

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Victor Francen	...	Marny
Michel Simon	...	Cabrissade
Louis Jouvet	...	Raphaël Saint Clair
Madeleine Ozeray	...	Jeannette
Alexandre Arquillière	...	Monsieur Lucien (as Arquillières)
Arthur Devère	...	Le régisseur (as Devère)
Sylvie	...	Madame Tusini
Joffre	...	Philémon
Charles Granval	...	Deaubonne (as Granval)
Pierre Magnier	...	Laroche
Mme Lherbay	...	Madame Philémon
Jean Coquelin	...	Delormel
Auguste Bovério	...	Le curé (as Bovério)
Jean Aymé	...	Victor
Tony Jacquot	...	Pierrot

Storyline

Aged penniless actors are living in a old people's home. They always talk about their past glory or failures. One day Raphael Saint-Clair comes; he has been a famous actor and had a lot of love affairs. Passions come back, and jealousies... A bitter film about aging, failure and the entertainment.

---

Plot Keywords:

jealousy | replacement | cafe | seduction game | retired | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 September 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

The End of the Day

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regina Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was supposed to star Louis Jouvet, Raimu and Michel Simon in the three main roles. Due to Raimu opting out of the movie, there was a big shuffle in the cast and both Jouvet and Simon changed parts. The cast was then completed by Victor Francen.

---

Quotes

Madame Marcellin: He used to tell me "You are my first love..."
Madame Chabert: Ah... to me too
Madame Marcellin: To whom was he lying?
Madame Chabert: To both of us probably
Madame Marcellin: But so charmingly!

User Reviews

End of the day,... end of an era.

A fabulous cast of actors (Jouvet, Simon and so on) for a bitter movie, with still some tenderness in it. It is a hard story about people loosing themselves in front or THE big issue of life. Remember this movie was shot a few month before WW2 started ? Even if not connected at all with the political/social context of that period, still it reflects the uncertainties of the period, through hard and changing characters. A must.