Les amants du pont Saint-Jean (1947)

On the banks of the Rhône, not far from Tain l'Hermitage, Alcide Garonne, an old ferryman - and incidentally a poacher - lives out of wedlock with Victorine Rousset nicknamed Maryse, a ... See full summary »

Director:

Henri Decoin

Writers:

Jean Aurenche, René Wheeler

Stars:

Michel Simon, Gaby Morlay, Paul Frankeur

Cast

Credited cast:
Michel Simon	...	Alcide Garonne
Gaby Morlay	...	Victorine Rousset, dite Maryse
Paul Frankeur	...	Georges Girard
Marc Cassot	...	Gustave Boiron, dit Pilou
Nadine Alari	...	Augusta Boiron
Pauline Carton	...	Tante Marguerite
René Génin	...	Labique le fripier
André Darnay	...	Amédée Boiron
Pierre Darteuil	...	Rival
Madeleine Suffel	...	La parente du noyé
Odette Barencey	...	Amélie
Albert Rémy	...	Le beau-frère du noyé
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
René-Jean Chauffard	...	Le menuisier
Henri Chochillon
Emile Chopitel

Storyline

On the banks of the Rhône, not far from Tain l'Hermitage, Alcide Garonne, an old ferryman - and incidentally a poacher - lives out of wedlock with Victorine Rousset nicknamed Maryse, a colorful tramp. When Garrone's son, Pilou, a worker, falls in love with Augusta, the mayor's daughter, the unconventional old couple tries to protect the unconventional young pair from the disapproval of self righteous villagers...

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

24 December 1947 (France)

Also Known As:

Hafenliebchen

Filming Locations:

Banks of the River Rhône, Drôme, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

D. U. C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only production of Adolphe-Abraham Landau (as A. Landeau), a Polish immigrant and communist activist who fled his country in 1926 on account of his political views. The film failed and Landau did not produce another one.

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Soundtracks

"Boire un petit coup, c'est agréable"
Lyrics By Félix Boyer (first verse, 1910), anonymous (second and third verse, during World War II) and Valbonne (4th verse,
1947)
Music by ValbonnM
Sung by Michel Simon and Gaby Morlay

User Reviews

Champagne For Cesar

With this brilliant film Henri Decoin skirts the territory practically patented by Marcel Pagnol and moves it from Provence to the banks of the Rhone where he subjects his Pagnol-like village to microscopic scrutiny where Pagnol was content to view his merely through a normal lens. There's a lot of healthy cynicism on display and for 1947 Decoin was more than cavalier in his irreverent approach to sacred cows. The Romeo and Juliet factor runs through it and it is interesting to recall that only a couple of years later a slightly better writer than Jean Aurenche (Jacques Prevert) and a slightly less gifted director than Decoin (Andre Cayatte) would explore a similar plot/theme in Les Amants de Verone and having said this let me add that I bow to no one in my admiration of both Jean Aurenche and Claude Autant-Lara, respectively among the finest Writers and Directors in French cinema. Almost inevitably Michel Simon steals the movie and Gaby Morlay is not far behind as his slatternly live-in lover but Decoin hits so many targets

• organised religion, local politics etc - that the performances are

merely a bonus. Decoin didn't get much better than this and that's saying something.