La Chartreuse de Parme (1948)

Director:

Christian-Jaque

Writers:

Stendhal (novel) and
Christian-Jaque (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

1948 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Fabrice del Dongo, a young archbishop, gives his all to romance rather than to the Church, creating complications for everyone around...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Escape | Prison | Aunt | Clergy

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Renée Faure	...	Clelia Conti (as Renee Faure de la Comédie Française)
Lucien Coëdel	...	Rassi, le chef de la police (as Lucien Coedel)
Louis Salou	...	Le prince Ernest IV
María Casares	...	La duchesse Gina de San Severina (as Maria Casares)
Gérard Philipe	...	Le marquis Fabrice del Dongo (as Gerard Philipe)
Tullio Carminati	...	Le comte Mosca, le premier ministre
Aldo Silvani	...	Le général Conti, gouverneur de la prison de Parme
Maria Michi	...	Marietta
Claudio Gora	...	Le marquis Crescenzi
Louis Seigner	...	Grillo - le gardien de la Tour Farnese (as Louis Seigner Sociétaire de la Comédie Française)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Albert Rémy
Alfredo Anghinelli	...	(uncredited)
Nerio Bernardi	...	La mari de Fausta (uncredited)
Renato Chiantoni	...	Le soldat a la lettre anonyme (uncredited)
Emilio Ciglioli	...	(uncredited)
Marisa Dees	...	(uncredited)
Attilio Dottesio	...	Ferrante Palla (uncredited)
Claudio Ermelli	...	L'espion de Mosca (uncredited)
Enrico Glori	...	Gilletti, l'acteur de théâtre (uncredited)
Walter Grant	...	(uncredited)
Cosetta Greco	...	(uncredited)
Tina Lattanzi	...	La princesse Marie-Louise de Bourbon-Parme (uncredited)
Achille Majeroni	...	L'évêque (uncredited)
Lina Marengo	...	Una signora curiosa (uncredited)
Rossana Montesi	...	(uncredited)
Enzo Musumeci Greco	...	(uncredited)
Rudolf H. Neuhaus	...	L'ambassadeur (uncredited)
Evelina Paoli	...	La grande duchesse (uncredited)
Fernand Rauzéna	...	(uncredited)
Laura Redi	...	Fausta (uncredited)
Dina Romano	...	Manamaccia (uncredited)
Gina Ror	...	(uncredited)
Cesarina Rossi	...	(uncredited)
Michele Sakara	...	(uncredited)
Jone Salinas	...	(uncredited)
Ermete Tamberlani	...	Le prêtre (uncredited)

Directed by
Christian-Jaque

Writing credits
Stendhal		(novel "La Chartreuse de Parme")
Christian-Jaque		screenplay
Pierre Jarry		screenplay
Pierre Véry		screenplay and dialogue

Produced by
Franco Magli	....	executive producer
Fred Orain	....	executive producer
André Paulvé	....	producer

Original Music by
Renzo Rossellini

Cinematography by
G.R. Aldo
Anchise Brizzi
Romolo Garroni
Nicolas Hayer
Klein
Martin

Film Editing by
Jacques Desagneaux
Giulia Fontana

Production Design by
Jean d'Eaubonne		(as Eaubonne)

Set Decoration by
Jean d'Eaubonne
Ottavio Scotti

Costume Design by
Georges Annenkov		(as Annenkoff)

Production Management
Franco Magli	....	production manager
Fred Orain	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Raymond Villette	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jacques Gut	....	assistant set decorator
Jacques Gut	....	assistant set designer
Roger Ronsin	....	property master

Sound Department
Jacques Carrère	....	sound re-recording mixer (as J. Carrere)
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound (as de Bretagne)
Jacques Lebreton	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Aldo	....	still photographer
Klein	....	camera operator
Martin	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Raymonde le Jeune	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Simone Bourdarias	....	script supervisor (as Simonne Bourdarias)
Michel Gudin	....	voice dubbing: Claudio Gora (French version)
Marcelle Lajeunesse	....	voice dubbing: Maria Michi (French version)
Jean Martinelli	....	voice dubbing: Attilio Dottesio (French version)
Enzo Musumeci Greco	....	master of arms (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Les Films André Paulvé
• Scalera Film S.p.a.
• Excelsa Film

Distributors

• San Paolo Films (1948) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Superfilm Distributing Corporation (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (English subtitles)
• Discina (1948) (France) (theatrical)
• Internationale Filmallianz (IFA) (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Video France (1994) (USA) (new English subtitles)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

170 min | West Germany:105 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Como, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Les Films André Paulvé

Trivia:

The film was presented in Italy in two separate episodes, "L'ombra del patibolo" and "Amanti senza speranza". They were released respectively on 21st and 24th February 1948.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Good Year (2006)

Fine, if overlong Stendhal adaptation

I quote from Time Out Film Guide, 11th ed. "...demonstrates to what degree French cinema de qualité was rather a matter of quantity, demanding a complacent accumulation of production values in lieu of the slightest vision or intelligence." This is boilerplate, trotted out to denigrate all literary adaptations made before Truffaut and Godard arrived on the scene. The film that I saw was made by a solid craftsman well before he became a hack. The sets are often stunning (the prison out of Piranesi), the costumes superb, the actors--well, you couldn't ask for anybody better than Gerard Philipe and Maria Casarès, both 25 at the time, Renée Faure, Louis Salou, Lucien Coedel.

Christian-Jaque had one big problem when he sat down with Pierre Véry to write the script: the novel is very digressive and full of scenes that don't advance the action. It takes 40 pages from the meeting with Giletti to the knife fight resulting in Giletti's death that puts Fabrice in prison. It was necessary to eliminate some minor characters and the opening chapters dealing with Waterloo are gone (major disappointment for Stendhal fans). Most problematical: the story really gets underway when Fabrice enters prison, and that isn't until Chapter 18, more than halfway through the book. If you can be patient and wait until the half way mark in a picture that lasts almost three hours, you will enjoy a classic.

Maria Casarès was too young to play La Sanseverina, a woman in her late thirties, but let's not observe tradition here. The sexual excitement around the Gina-Fabrice-Clelia triangle is only made more potent with Casarès. The happy few can be even happier.