PAGNOL Marcel (1895-1974) [AF 1946, 25e f]. - Lot 177

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  3. PAGNOL Marcel (1895-1974) [AF 1946, 25e f]. - Lot 177
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Lot n° 177
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PAGNOL Marcel (1895-1974) [AF 1946, 25e f]. - Lot 177
PAGNOL Marcel (1895-1974) [AF 1946, 25e f]. L.A.S. "Marcel Pagnol", Marseilles, February 20, 1940, to François de FLERS; 6 pages in-4, headed Les Films Marcel Pagnol. Long and interesting letter about his script for the film adapted from Flers and Caillavet's play, Monsieur Brotonneau, and his dispute with Raimu. The film, produced and distributed by his company Les Films Marcel Pagnol, with RAIMU in the title role, was directed by Alexandre ESWAY, and was released in August 1939. Pagnol was sorry that his offices had not submitted to François de Flers the cut of the film based on his father's play, as he had ordered: "I must tell you that eight days before shooting, a rather violent incident broke out between Mr Raimu and myself. Mr. Raimu, who had shot Fanny, César and La Femme du Boulanger under my direction, suddenly wrote to me [] that he refused to shoot M. Brotonneau under my direction, because I was, in his opinion, 'the worst director in the world'. Raimu also demanded that Pagnol rewrite all the play's dialogues. Pagnol attached a copy of his reply to Raimu, in which he yielded to his star on some points, but refused to rewrite the play... In his cutting, Pagnol had only changed a few sentences, adapting the play to a more popular audience and to the current era: "Until the end of the play, I scrupulously respected the text of the deceased masters"; it was only at the end that he added a few pages, out of sympathy for Brotonneau: "This man so devoted, so upright, so pure, is he going to stay with this shrill, ugly, and old woman, who has made him a cuckold in his own marital bed, with the most stupid of his employees? Is he going to give up the true love of a young, loving, devoted woman, to keep the old robe and the old hussy who has been cheating on him for over fifteen years? It hurt my heart. In 1939, Mr. Brotonneau rebelled. Certainly I did not allow myself to touch the work of Robert de Flers, whom I had the honor to know. I took the liberty of adding, twenty-seven years later, a very small act. He could not tell her this in August when the film was released, the offices being disorganized by the departures to the army of most of his collaborators and technicians: he continued only to feed the wives of the mobilized, "but I confess that at that time, I forgot Brotonneau, whose exploitation [] seemed to me to be postponed after the war. Enclosed is a typed copy of Pagnol's letter to Raimu, dated Marseilles, January 5th, 1939: Pagnol agrees to hire Esway as a director, is surprised by Raimu's insulting and hurtful recriminations, reminding him of their international successes, refuses any idea of collaboration, removes his name from the poster, and finally reminds him that he wrote this script at his request: "If you make one more great film, I will be the first one to be happy about it. If you make one more dud, I will have the consolation of not having anything to do with it" Plus a copy of F. de Flers' reply to Pagnol, March 6th, 1940.
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