424:" continued between France and Germany but Italy had not yet joined the war. In early May however the French ambassador in Rome warned L'Herbier that Italy's declaration of war was imminent and it became necessary for the French actors and technicians to make their arrangements to leave the country as soon as possible, with some of their contributions to the film unfinished. The film negative remained in Rome, and it subsequently suffered some damage in a fire.
378:, had enjoyed success on stage in the 1920s in France and elsewhere. He had obtained the author's approval for his ideas on how to adapt it, and in 1930 L'Herbier had signed a contract with a producer to make the film as the second of a two-film deal. However in the event financial difficulties obliged the producer to default on the deal. It was another ten years before circumstances allowed the project to proceed with a new producer,
279:
in Nice inhabited by several unhappy individuals, including the owner's shy daughter Lydia, the suicidal
Russian exile Fédor, and the embittered spinster Miss Aglaé. Jourdain hires some actors from the local theatre to play roles in real life at the boarding house which will transform the lives of everyone, illustrating his principle: "To create the happiness of others is difficult. But it's enough to create the illusion of happiness."
283:
for him. To bring his scheme to its completion, Jourdain organises a fancy-dress ball which culminates in an invasion of the local studios of Radio Azur by all the masked revellers, and a succession of mistaken identities, tricks and unmaskings results in the confused satisfaction of almost everyone. But
Jourdain has to surrender himself and return to the asylum.
438:
Back in occupied France, L'Herbier was unable to do anything more with the film until more than a year later when the film was secretly returned to him from Rome. He then sought to complete filming of the missing parts, reassembling the actors who were still available and resorting to special effects
278:
When the wealthy banker François
Jourdain tries to spend his money on philanthropic causes, his relatives have him committed to a psychiatric clinic to save their inheritance. During Mardi Gras celebrations, Jourdain escapes and takes up residence in the Pension Beau Soleil, a run-down boarding house
282:
The leading actor and tenor Félix courts Lydia and makes her feel loved, his wife Anita awakens the interest of Fédor, and Déribin overcomes his aversion to Aglaé and listens to her complaints. Meanwhile
Jourdain's relatives have offered a large reward for his recapture and the police are searching
263:
as a dual-language production. It was filmed in Rome in the early months of 1940, but after Italy joined World War II on the side of
Germany, the French and Italian versions of the film were completed separately. The Italian version was released in December 1940 under the title
431:. The credits list only the Italian contributors to it, except for the director and the four principal (non-Italian) actors. In addition to the cinematographer Massimo Terzano, the camera operatore is listed as
439:
for those who were not. The material was carefully edited and fine-tuned to bring his long-cherished but much thwarted project to fruition, and it was released in Paris in July 1942. This French version of
461:. Both films were comedies which gave contemporary reviews the opportunity to make direct comparison between them. The performances of Micheline Presle, who appeared in both films, and of Michel Simon in
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An
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in the filming and editing of some sequences, and in some instances the casting.
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also joined the company for one of the few films that he made outside
Hollywood.
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Filming began in Rome in March 1940 and proceeded smoothly, while the "
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413:(his first completed film). The Mexican-American star of silent films
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259:( "the comedy of happiness") is a French-Italian film directed by
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Marcel L'Herbier had wanted for many years to make a film from
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as François
Jourdain / Giambattista Giordano (Italian version)
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Ramon
Novarro: A Biography of the Silent Film Idol, 1899-1968
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consequently shows significant differences from the
Italian
35:
Poster for the French version of the film, released in 1942
558:, at Archivio del cinema italiano. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
595:, 9 August 1942, p. 2 (review by Françoise Holbane).
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515:. Paris: Jacques Vautrain, 1950. p. 125-127.
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544:, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009. p. 143.
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499:. Paris: Belfont, 1979. pp. 197; 202-203.
397:on its release in Italy in December 1940.
386:, to be filmed at their studios in Rome.
465:were singled out for particular praise.
401:A prestigious cast was assembled led by
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405:, and it included early appearances by
334:Magdeleine Bérubet as Miss Aglaé / Egle
351:as Madame Estella, the fortune-teller
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1031:Films directed by Marcel L'Herbier
14:
779:The Perfume of the Lady in Black
771:The Mystery of the Yellow Room
571:. Paris: Belfont, 1979. p. 287
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1041:Italian black-and-white films
1011:Films shot at Scalera Studios
1001:Films scored by Jacques Ibert
357:as the director of Radio Azur
169:Mario Carta (Italian version)
1006:French black-and-white films
1016:1940s French-language films
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196:23 December 1940
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635:at Monsieur Louis Jourdan
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996:1940s multilingual films
955:The Last Days of Pompeii
923:The Honourable Catherine
301:as Félix / Felice Ciatti
689:Le Carnaval des vérités
963:The Father of the Girl
859:The Citadel of Silence
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538:Allan R. Ellenberger,
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207:23 July 1942
899:La Comédie du bonheur
737:Little Devil May Care
632:La Comédie du bonheur
610:La Comédie du bonheur
526:La Comédie du bonheur
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463:La Comédie du bonheur
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376:La Comédie du bonheur
256:La Comédie du bonheur
63:(additional dialogue)
22:La Comédie du bonheur
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947:The Queen's Necklace
68:(Italian adaptation)
1046:1940s Italian films
1026:French comedy films
915:La Nuit fantastique
875:Adrienne Lecouvreur
755:La Femme d'une nuit
529:at Louisjourdan.net
486:at Ciné-Ressources.
458:La Nuit fantastique
136:Maurice Desfassiaux
1051:1940s French films
819:La Route impériale
721:Feu Mathias Pascal
675:Films directed by
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569:La Tête qui tourne
567:Marcel L'Herbier,
497:La Tête qui tourne
495:Marcel L'Herbier,
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313:as Anita / Annetta
311:Jacqueline Delubac
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267:Ecco la felicità!
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122:Micheline Presle
82:Nikolai Evreinov
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110:Michel Simon
100:Scalera Film
92:André Paulvé
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61:Jean Cocteau
958:(1948-1950)
934:(1942-1945)
835:The New Men
795:The Scandal
713:L'Inhumaine
639:Film review
393:Poster for
349:Ève Francis
228:108 minutes
88:Produced by
66:Gino Valori
41:Directed by
991:1942 films
986:1940 films
980:Categories
811:Le Bonheur
787:L'Épervier
729:Le Vertige
593:Paris-Midi
469:References
433:Mario Bava
422:phoney war
374:which, as
362:Production
344:René Génin
331:as Déribin
211:1942-07-23
200:1940-12-23
175:Production
55:André Cerf
51:Written by
851:The Cheat
705:El Dorado
451:Reception
243:Languages
233:Countries
164:Songs by
142:Edited by
867:Rasputin
746:L'Argent
581:Comoedia
156:Music by
106:Starring
73:Based on
384:Scalera
248:Italian
209: (
198: (
182:Scalera
177:company
96:DisCina
966:(1953)
950:(1946)
942:(1946)
926:(1943)
918:(1942)
910:(1941)
902:(1940)
894:(1939)
886:(1939)
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862:(1937)
854:(1937)
846:(1937)
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732:(1926)
724:(1925)
716:(1924)
708:(1921)
700:(1920)
692:(1920)
323:Sylvie
246:French
236:France
238:Italy
626:IMDb
615:IMDb
409:and
287:Cast
274:Plot
624:at
613:at
80:by
982::
504:^
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668:e
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