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.

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Plot Keywords:

peasant | death | moor the person | born again christian | suresnes france | 

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Taglines:

No Motion Picture Has Ever Expressed So Much!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 December 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der heilige Vinzenz

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Connections

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

User Reviews

MONSIEUR VINCENT (Maurice Cloche, 1947) ***

This was only the second movie to be honored with a Special Oscar as the year's Best Foreign-Language Film, after Vittorio De Sica's SHOESHINE (1946). In retrospect, while a fine achievement in itself, it is not quite in the top rank of French productions (even those made around this same time) – for the record, the country would receive two more such wins, both for director Rene' Clement, i.e. THE WALLS OF MALAPAGA (1949) and FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952), before the category was officially incorporated into the 1956 ceremony.

The film is a religious biopic, the subject being the priest revered for his unselfish aid towards the poor/moribund community in the 17th century and who would eventually be canonized as Saint Vincent De Paule; incidentally, the national old people's home (where my paternal grandfather expired in 2002) is named after him. The success of the movie rests more with Pierre Fresnay's commanding central performance (which earned him the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival), Jean-Jacques Grünenwald's rousing score and Claude Renoir's splendid cinematography (that said, the print I watched seemed unduly bright) than the narrative itself (though scripted by famed playwright Jean Anouilh) – which tells a pretty standard tale of a man being initially misunderstood and scorned, then endorsed and abetted. Even so, a few scenes certainly do stand out: the priest getting relentlessly stoned as he lends a helping hand to a would-be plague victim; taking the place of an exhausted galley slave; listening to the 'miserable' sounds of fellow residents at his lodgings; the fights between the myriad mangled patients for a place on the hospital's over-crowded beds, etc.

The supporting cast here is notable for showcasing future stars such as Claude Chabrol regulars Michel Bouquet and Jean Carmet. By the way, given the subject matter, I was reminded throughout of two of my favourite film-maker Luis Bunuel's best efforts, namely NAZARIN (1959; which, like MONSIEUR VINCENT itself, is included in the Vatican's 45-title list of "Some Important Films"!) and VIRIDIANA (1961).