JCM312/French Cinema Between the Wars I: Popular Front (Discussion)
The Crime of M. Lange
Group 1
Fofi argues that actor Jean Gabin and the characters he played were symbolic of the end of the Popular Front. How so?
Group 2
In 1936, Léon Blum was elected premier of France. What, according to Fofi, was the general response to his election and why was his election significant to the Popular Front?
Group 3
Among the significant events of 1936 was the founding of Ciné-Liberté. What was the purpose or agenda of this association and what was Renoir's relationship to it?
- La Vie est a nous
Group 4
Who was the scriptwriter of The Crime of M. Lange, and how is his "capacity to reduce general themes to key, immediately identifiable characters evident in the film? Refer to specific characters' names as much as possible (you can find them on IMDb.com).
- Jacques Prévert
Le Million
All groups: List four instances in the film where sound and image are not in sync. How does sound comment on or shape the image in these instances?
- Jacket ripping in opera scene
- Rugby game over jacket fight
- Holding hands at the end / train sound
- Jacket out window / funny sound
- Trumpet trill over plate crash
- Slaps / cymbal, tympani
- Chorus commenting on action
The Crime of M. Lange cast
Actor ... character
- René Lefèvre ... Amédée Lange
- Florelle ... Valentine
- Jules Berry ... Batala
- Marcel Lévesque ... The Concierge
- Odette Talazac ... The Concierge
- Henri Guisol ... Meunier (the son)
- Maurice Baquet ... Charles, The Concierges' Son
- Jacques B. Brunius ... Mr. Baigneur
- Sylvain Itkine ... Batala's cousin
External links
Bibliography
Fofi, Goffredo. "The Cinema of the Popular Front in France (1934-38)." In Screen Reader I, pp. 172-224. London: SEFT, 1977.
