Liliom (1934)

Two women love the same man in a world of few prospects. In Budapest, Liliom is a "public figure," a rascal who's a carousel barker, loved by the experienced merry-go-round owner and by a ... See full summary »

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Ferenc Molnár (play) (as Franz Molnár), Robert Liebmann (adaptation)

Stars:

Charles Boyer, Madeleine Ozeray, Robert Arnoux

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Boyer	...	Liliom Zadowski
Madeleine Ozeray	...	Julie Boulard / Liliom and Julie's daughter
Robert Arnoux	...	Le tourneur (the Lathe Turner)
Roland Toutain	...	Le marin ivre (The Drunken Sailor)
Alexandre Rignault	...	Hollinger
Henri Richard	...	Le commissaire - The Commissioner
Marcel Barencey	...	Le policier du Purgatoire - Purgatory Cop (as Barencey)
Raoul Marco	...	L'inspecteur - The Detective
Antonin Artaud	...	Le rémouleur (The Knife Grinder)
Léon Arvel	...	L'employé du commissariat (Police station employee)
René Stern	...	Le caissier - Cashier
Mimi Funes	...	Marie (as Mimi Funès)
Maximilienne	...	Mme. Menoux
Viviane Romance	...	La marchande de cigarettes - Cigarette Girl
Mila Parély	...	La dactylo - Typist

Storyline

Two women love the same man in a world of few prospects. In Budapest, Liliom is a "public figure," a rascal who's a carousel barker, loved by the experienced merry-go-round owner and by a young, innocent maid. The maid, Julie, loses her job after going out with Liliom; he's fired by his jealous employer for going out with Julie. The two lovers move in with Julie's aunt; unemployment emasculates him and a local weasel tempts him with crime. Julie, now wan, is true to Liliom even in his bad temper. Meanwhile, a stolid widower, a carpenter, wants to marry Julie. Is there any future on this earth for Julie and Liliom, whose love is passionate rather than ideal?

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Plot Keywords:

carousel | budapest hungary | bureaucracy | police station | police inspector | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

15 May 1934 (France)

Also Known As:

Liliom

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Productions Fox Europa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 85 min (edited) 118 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was included on Disc 2 of the Carousel (1956) 50th Anniversary DVD.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Liliom Zadowski: Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! The Hippo-Palace, elegant amusement for all! Glad to see you back, ma'am. You should buy a season pass! Just like a jockey, grip with your knees! Careful with your stockings! Calling all riders! Saddle up!

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Crazy Credits

Madeleine Ozeray, who plays Julie, also plays her daughter, but this has never been mentioned in any credit list for the film.

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Alternate Versions

The first U.S. release of this film also had half an hour trimmed from it. The full-length version had never been seen in the U.S. until the 2004 DVD and VHS releases of the film.

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Connections

Version of Carousel (1956)

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Soundtracks

Viens gosse de gosse
(uncredited)
Written by Jean Lenoir

User Reviews

Ferenc Molnar's great play about a doomed carousel barker who revisits his wife & daughter after death; it's CAROUSEL without the Rodgers & Hammerstein's score..

Billy Wilder, Kurt Weill & Fritz Lang, three Berliners fleeing the Nazis, all sojourned in Paris before coming to the USA. Wilder's Parisian work was negligible, but the more established Weill & Lang each produced a masterpiece. While Weill's 7 DEADLY SINS is one of his best known classical works, Lang's adaptation of Molnar's great play is almost unknown. CAROUSEL, Rogers & Hammerstein musicalization of LILIOM, which all but buried the original, has now brought it back. (It shows up as a welcome 'extra' on the latest 2-DVD edition of CAROUSEL.) The musical stays remarkably close to LILIOM's plot, structure & characterizations, but Molnar is both rawer & more fanciful. The mix fits Lang like a monocle. As Liliom, the carousel barker (Billy Bigelow in the musical), Charles Boyer is just about perfect, bluntly cruel & irresistible, not only a precursor to the Stanley Kowalskis of the world, but like Brando with the sensual features of a Caravaggio. The rest of the cast is just as fine, but the film's success comes largely from Lang's handling of the difficult material. Rudolphe Mate's lensing looks stunning in this well preserved copy (far superior to the KINO DVD release) and the few scenes that suffer from flat poverty row French studio conditions are easily ignored. A near great film.