Gervaise (1956)

Gervaise Macquart, a young lame laundress, is left by her lover Auguste Lantier with two boys... She manages to make it, and a few years later she marries Coupeau, a roofer. After working ... See full summary »

Director:

René Clément

Writers:

Émile Zola (novel), Jean Aurenche,

Stars:

Maria Schell, François Périer, Jany Holt

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maria Schell	...	Gervaise Macquart Coupeau, une blanchisseuse douce et courageuse
François Périer	...	Henri Coupeau - le second compagnon de Gervaise, un ouvrier zingueur
Jany Holt	...	Mme Lorilleux - la soeur revêche de Coupeau
Mathilde Casadesus	...	Mme Boche - la concierge curieuse
Florelle	...	Maman Coupeau - la vieille mère d'Henri
Micheline Luccioni	...	Clémence - une blanchisseuse, ouvrière chez Gervaise
Lucien Hubert	...	M. Poisson - un gendarme le mari de Virginie
Jacques Harden	...	Goujet - un forgeron, ami de Gervaise et d'Henri
Jacques Hilling	...	M. Boche - le mari de la concierge
Amédée	...	Mes Bottes - un camarade de Coupeau
Hubert de Lapparent	...	M. Lorilleux - un chaîniste, le mari souffreteux de Mme Lorilleux (as Hubert Lapparent)
Hélène Tossy	...	Mme Bijard
Rachel Devirys	...	Mme Fauconnier (as Rachel Devyris)
Jacqueline Morane	...	Mme Gaudron
Yvonne Claudie	...	Mme Putois - une invitée au repas de fête

Storyline

Gervaise Macquart, a young lame laundress, is left by her lover Auguste Lantier with two boys... She manages to make it, and a few years later she marries Coupeau, a roofer. After working very hard a few more years, she succeeds in buying her own laundry (her dream)... But Coupeau starts to drink after having fallen from a roof, and Lantier shows up... A faithful adaptation of Emile Zola's novel "L'Assomoir", depicting the fatal degeneration of a family of workers, mainly because of alcohol.

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Plot Keywords:

laundress | laundry | poverty | cabaret | blacksmith | 

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Taglines:

A Most Unusual Love Story in a Most Unusual Motion Picture!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 November 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Taberna

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agnes Delahaie Productions, Silver Films, Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique (CICC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film appearance of Micheline Luccioni.

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Quotes

Gervaise Macquart Coupeau, une blanchisseuse douce et courageuse: [singing "Let Me Sleep"] What's the use of dreaming of birds and nests If the bird flies away and abandons the nest If the pigeon dies so does his mate What's the use of dreaming of birds and nests What's the use of sleeping if the night disappears If I must wake and face the day If I only wake to shed more tears What's the use of sleeping If the night disappears Days and nights whirl through my head Days and nights fill me with dread What's the use of dreaming Let me sleep Let me...

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Connections

Version of Faldgruben (1909)

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Soundtracks

"Laissez-moi dormir"
Music by Georges Auric
Lyrics by Raymond Queneau
Performed by Maria Lopez

User Reviews

Maria Schell was miscast

Why Maria Schell?If you have read Zola's masterpiece -"l'assommoir" the seventh of the Rougon Macquart saga,and one of the finest, surpassed only by "Germinal"- ,you wonder why Clement chose her when the part was tailor made for Simone Signoret.On the other hand ,Suzy Delair was the ideal Virginie Poisson,hypocrite venomous and vile .They say her buttocks were "dubbed" (by Liliane Montevecchi's) during the famous scene of the spanking ! René Clément did a good job even if his adaptation seemed sometimes tame and timid .Zola's depictions are so intense that it's hard to transfer them to the screen.But the " fête de Gervaise " ,with the gargantuan meal comes close to fully recreate it,and it was not easy since in the book it spreads over about twenty pages.

Despise some reservations,this is an unqualified must for good cinema lovers.