The story concerns an old globe-maker who is mysteriously killed while going through the town portraying Pere Noel ("Father Christmas" aka Santa Claus).
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Title: Who Killed Santa Claus? (1941)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Harry Baur | ... | Gaspard Cornusse | |
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Renée Faure | ... | Catherine Cornusse |
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Marie-Hélène Dasté | ... | La mère Michel |
| Raymond Rouleau | ... | Le baron Roland de la Faille | |
| Robert Le Vigan | ... | Léon Villard - le maître d'école (as Le Vigan) | |
| Fernand Ledoux | ... | Noirgoutte - le maire | |
| Jean Brochard | ... | Ricomet | |
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Jean Parédès | ... | Kappel, - le sacristain (as Jean Paredes) |
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Héléna Manson | ... | Marie Coquillot (as Helena Manson) |
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Storyline
The story concerns an old globe-maker who is mysteriously killed while going through the town portraying Pere Noel ("Father Christmas" aka Santa Claus).
Plot Keywords:
1940s | death of title character | title same as book | christmas eve | christmas mass |Certificate:
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Trivia
Was the first film produced by Continental Films, the infamous French production company financed by the Germans. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Details
Country:
FranceLanguage:
FrenchRelease Date:
22 April 1948 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Who Killed Santa Claus? See more »Filming Locations:
Argentière, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Haute-Savoie, FranceCompany Credits
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Unlike the precedent user,I will not speak of the political background but of Christian-Jaque's intentions.It was obviously intended to match the brilliance of his former work "les disparus de Saint-Agil" (1938),the script of which having been written by Pierre Very too from his two novels.In both works two worlds coexist:the adults on one side,the children on the other."Les disparus de Saint-Agil",which was a small miracle in itself succeeded in perfectly blending the two worlds .In "l'assassinat du père noel' the two sides do not hang very well,the "grown-ups " and the "brats " plots go their separate ways and only a tenuous line desperately tries to connect them:Baur's daughter,dreaming of fair knights and Princes Charming of fairy tales ,an adult who's still a child.
The best is the atmosphere:the village surrounded by snow,where they gather for the feast of Xmas ,wrapped in mystery:a strange woman,searching for her cat-she will be searching for almost the entire film- ,a handsome baron who hides one of his hands in a glove (leprosy?),an anticlerical schoolteacher (almost a pleonasm in those years),a shady chemist ,and the gendarmes who cannot ,until the very end reach the isolated place where a Santa Claus has been killed.Besides ,a bedridden child is eagerly waiting for his father Xmas.
The movie is mainly worthwhile for its atmosphere;the detective plot is disappointing;the solution is given in about 2 minutes and it's very trite.Some of the yuletide charms are preserved though,and the last pictures finally connects the two stories ,albeit a bit artificially.