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

Henri Coupeau - le second compagnon de Gervaise, un ouvrier zingueur: Look how she handles men's shirts! She knows what she's doing. She knows them well. She's handled a lot of shirts without men in them! And men without shirts!

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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

The degeneration by alcohol

François Perier as the alcoholic Henri Coupeau is unsurpassed as sick man having his overdose and delirium by alcohol. Maria Shell as Gervaise is convincing as the poor woman working day and night for the drunken men she is having in her home and her little daughter! This movie should be shown to all people having drinking problems. As it is set in a different period (the end of the second Emperor Napoleon's reign) is has something universal. The general atmosphere of this epoch is however very accurate.