Monsieur Vincent (1947)

St. Vincent de Paul struggles to bring about peace and harmony among the peasant and the nobles in the midst of the Black Death in Europe, carrying on his charitable work in the face of all obstacles.

Director:

Maurice Cloche

Writers:

Jean Bernard-Luc (screenplay), Jean Anouilh (screenplay)

Stars:

Pierre Fresnay, Aimé Clariond, Jean Debucourt

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierre Fresnay	...	Vincent de Paul
Aimé Clariond	...	Le cardinal de Richelieu
Jean Debucourt	...	Philippe-Emmanuel de Gondi, comte de Joigny
Lise Delamare	...	Françoise Marguerite de Silly, comtesse de Joigny (as Lise Delamare de la Comédie Française)
Germaine Dermoz	...	La reine Anne d'Autriche
Gabrielle Dorziat	...	La présidente Groussault
Pierre Dux	...	Le chancelier Séguier
Yvonne Gaudeau	...	Louise de Marillac (as Yvonne Gaudeau de la Comédie Française)
Michel Bouquet	...	Le tuberculeux
Jean Carmet	...	L'abbé Pontail
Gabrielle Fontan	...	La vieille sourde du presbytère de Châtillon
Robert Murzeau	...	Monsieur Besnier
Marcel Pérès	...	La Fouille - l'ancien soldat estropié
Marcel Vallée	...	L'administrateur des hospices
Francette Vernillat	...	La petite fille (as La petite Francette Vernillat)

Storyline

St. Vincent de Paul struggles to bring about peace and harmony among the peasant and the nobles in the midst of the Black Death in Europe, carrying on his charitable work in the face of all obstacles.

---

Plot Keywords:

character name as title | two word title | period drama | peasant | death | 

---

Taglines:

No Motion Picture Has Ever Expressed So Much!

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Selected by the Vatican in the "religion" category of its list of 45 "great films."

---

Quotes

Vincent de Paul: You will soon realize charity is a heavy load to carry. It is heavier than a bucket of soup and a basket of bread. But you will always keep your tenderness and your smile. It is not hard to serve soup and bread. Even the rich can do that. But you are a servant to the poor a daughter of charity always smiling, always in a good mood. They are your masters. Touchy and demanding masters, as you'll see. The uglier and dirtier they are, the more unfair and vulgar they are, the more love you'll have ...

---

Connections

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

User Reviews

"......and the greatest of these is Charity".

This film of Maurice Cloche was financed by 'the faithful' via national subscription and covers forty years in the life of Vincent de Paul who was canonised in 1737 for his sterling, tireless and utterly selfless work amongst the poor and down trodden of seventeenth century France. It is by nature episodic but that does not lessen its power to move. Cloche has been fortunate enough to secure the services of Pierre Fresnay. The chance to play the title role must have seemed manna from Heaven to this brilliant, mercurial actor who was not exactly riding high in the popularity stakes following investigations into alleged collaboration during the Occupation. His performance is one of the treasured few that transcend the art of film acting. Humanity and humility abound in his characterisation with never a trace of self-righteousness. The cast is uniformly excellent notably Aime Clariond, Jean Debucourt, Lisa Delamare and Gabrielle Dorziat. Claude Renoir has created 'painterly' images whilst Rene Renoux and Rosine Delamare contribute their customary excellence of production and costume design. Superlative title music by Jean-Jacques Grunenwald who had already shown his credentials by composing music for two 'religious' films of Robert Bresson and who was to become titular organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris. Excellent dialogue by playwright Jean Anouilh. Ironically the film poses the question as to whether those who receive charity are grateful or in fact despise those who are dispensing it. Revealing indeed is Vincent's instruction to one of his novices that the poor must be induced to forgive you for the bread you give them! It also questions the moral ambiguity of the Ladies of Charity who shun a foundling that they regard as being conceived in sin. Deservedly heaped with awards including the Oscar for Best Foreign Film before that category became a competitive affair this piece can truly be called a 'labour of love'.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 December 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

De kjærlige hender

Filming Locations:

Studios des Buttes-Chaumont, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edition et Diffusion Cinématographique (E.D.I.C.), Office Familial de Documentaire Artistique (O.F.D.A.), Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Système Cottet)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1