The last billionaire
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The last billionaire |
| Original title | Le dernier milliardaire |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1934 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | René Clair |
| script | René Clair |
| production | Bernard Natan for Pathé-Natan, Paris |
| music | Maurice Jaubert |
| camera | Rudolph Maté |
| cut |
Jean Pouzé René Clair |
| occupation | |
| |
The last billionaire (original title: Le Dernier milliardaire) is a French political film satire from 1934 by René Clair .
action
A fictional little kingdom somewhere in Europe.
The Principality of Casinario is suffering severely from the effects of the global economic crisis and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The people are poor as a beggar, bartering is flourishing. All hopes now rest on the allegedly richest man in the world, a certain Monsieur Banco. Its existence is seen as a blessing, as a lifeline from impending doom. Everyone in the country is ready to submit to his wishes, should he only save the miniature state. As a “reward” for his help, the monarch, who rules the country with an iron hand, also promises him the pretty princess Isabelle. Banco accepts, and so the billionaire is unceremoniously named dictator of Casinario. Everything is going well until one day he is hit on the back of the head.
The resulting concussion makes Monsieur Banco lose his mind to the same extent as his tendency to despotism grows. The last billionaire is abusing the power that has been granted to him more and more. His instructions and decisions are getting stranger and stranger, and yet the citizens as well as the political class support him in his strange actions. The parliamentarians are little more than nodding yes-men. The absurd changes in the neo-fascist banco state are celebrated in a weekly newsreel: hats and ties are forbidden with immediate effect, mass physical exercises must take place in public and conversations of any kind are also prohibited. With immediate effect, beards are required to wear shorts in public, and those who refuse to accept these orders immediately go to jail. When one day Banco finds its way back to its old form, it is too late: it is ruined. But at least the post of head of government and at the same time that of the prince consort at the side of the queen remains for him.
Production notes
The last billionaire , whose filming began in January 1934, premiered in Paris on October 17, 1934. The following year the film was shown in Portugal, Japan, the USA and Spain, among others. The German premiere was on December 3, 1973 in the first program of GDR television .
The film structures were designed by Lucien Aguettand and Lucien Carré . The costumes are by Jeanne Dubouchet. Louis Née served Rudolph Maté as a simple cameraman.
The last billionaire received two film awards in 1935, the Kinema Jumpō Prize (Japan) and the National Board of Review Award (USA).
To what extent the story was inspired by the events of the previous year (1933) in Germany is difficult to say. However, René Clair, who had previously worked several times for the German offshoot of Tobis in France, Films sonores Tobis, aroused in the Nazi state in 1934 "because of his satire on the dictatorship (...) the official German displeasure". Bonds can also be found in the Marx Brothers film The Marx Brothers in War .
The boycott by Germany and Italy and the poor acceptance of The Last Billionaire at Home made it almost impossible for Clair to land orders in France. So he went to England in 1935, where he directed the comedy A Ghost Goes to America that same year .
Reviews
The film was highly controversial when it premiered. Decades later, the critics came to much milder judgments.
In the October 27, 1934 issue of the Österreichische Film-Zeitung there was a first report on the reception of The Last Billionaire among the French audience: "There is a lot about it that amazes the French audience, but the film must be a success with the broader public Layers of the audience are predicted. It is a satire on capitalism and other contemporary trends and does not show the ease of staging that Clair is accustomed to, which is also given under the reasons that can be blamed for the cool reception. "
Andre Sennwald wrote in the New York Times on October 30, 1935 : “The new French photoplay at the Cinema de Paris is a civilized and witty political satire which applies the barbed slapstick to royalty and to the modern Fascist State with equal irreverence. But having appointed Mr. Clair a genius, we have come to expect a full-blown masterpiece from him every time he goes to work. Although "Le Dernier Milliardaire" is a superior and often brilliant photoplay, it is definitely below the standard of "A Nous la Liberte" and "Le Million." Sporadically it reveals Mr. Clair's joyous imagination at its most fertile, but the film is long and talkative, and it lacks the luxuriance of comic invention that makes his best work unparalleled for consistent excellence. But if the film seems a trifle sparse in its humorous devices, it is a devastating bit of social criticism. Since it has managed to get itself banned in Germany and Italy, it wears the accolade of triumph. (...) Mr. Clair is in his finest satirical vein when he is describing the extravagant rules of conduct which the dictator imposes on the country. (...) Even when the film descends to more prosaic fun, or is guilty of overemphasis that robs entire sequences of complete effectiveness, the film constantly reveals the highly personal touch of its creator. The French cast responds nimbly to the Clair management. Although "Le Dernier Milliardiare" is rather more brilliant in conception than in execution, it is as urbane an intellectual comedy as anything the cinema is likely to provide this season. "
The Lexicon of International Films pointed to the reception and resonance of the film in its premiere in 1934 and referred to current political references: “A profound political satire with which René Clair triggered one of the biggest scandals in French film history: just a few days before the premiere During the film in Paris, the Yugoslav King Alexandre and the French Foreign Minister Barthou were murdered in Marseille. Barthou had a beard and, according to the sensational press, had special sexual habits that included a dog. The film, although shot months earlier, was seen as a mockery of the minister. The indignation in the right-wing scandal press was so great that no producer gave Clair a chance and he went to England. "
Hal Erickson writes: "Drawn by critics for ignorance of the world's social injustice, director René Clair responded with" Le Dernier Milliardaire ", a" relevant "satirical comedy that somehow resembles the much later films" Forrest Gump "and “ Welcome Mr. Chance ” recalls. (…) A pure joy when you look at him nowadays, “Le Dernier Milliardaire” was a huge flop at its first performance, which led René Clair to feel compelled to turn into a long-lasting one to go into professional exile. "
In his Dictionnaire du cinéma, Jean-Loup Passek noted the failure of the film and pointed out that the depiction of the dictators was topical (at the time), while Georges Sadoul emphasized several times that this film was an undeserved failure.
Web links
- The last billionaire in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ "As a commentary on the regulations in the fascist state, this part is consistently excellent," wrote the critic in the New York Times on October 30, 1935
- ^ Short message in the Österreichische Film-Zeitung of January 27, 1934
- ↑ Bucher's Encyclopedia of Films, Verlag CJ Bucher, Lucerne and Frankfurt / M. 1977, p. 776
- ↑ "The Last Billionaire". In: Österreichische Film-Zeitung , October 27, 1934, p. 6 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ Le dernier milliardaire in New York Times . Translation: “The new French film at the Cinema de Paris is a civilized and humorous satire that applies its biting slapstick humor to both the monarchy and the modern fascist state with equal disrespect. But if you call Mr. Clair a genius, then we expect an absolute masterpiece from him at all times. Although "Le Dernier Milliardaire" is an above average, often brilliant film, it is below the level of "A Nous la Liberte" and "Le Million". Occasionally the film reveals Mr Clair's exuberant imagination in the best possible way, but it is long and talkative, and it lacks the abundance of amusing ideas that so far have made his best works in an incomparable way. But even if the film only seems to show little humor, there is, in a downright disturbing way, little social criticism. Since the film managed to get on the banned list in Germany and Italy, it has been awarded a triumph. (…) Mr. Clair shows his finest penchant for satire when he describes the extravagant rules of behavior that the dictator imposes on the country. (...) Even when the film sinks into prosaic fun or is guilty of overemphasis, depriving the whole sequences of their effects, the film always reveals the high personal touch of its creator. The French occupation nimbly follows Clair's instructions. Although "Le Dernier Milliardaire" is more brilliant in its layout than in its execution, the film is a cultured and intellectual comedy that is unlikely to be seen in cinema this season. "
- ↑ The Last Billionaire in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Original text in artistdirect.com
- ↑ cf. Dictionnaire du Cinéma, Paris 1992, p. 128
- ↑ In his Dictionnaire des Cinéastes in the new edition from 1981 on page 61 he speaks of a “L'injuste échec”; In the Dictionary of Film Makers, Berkeley / Los Angeles 1972, the English translation by Peter Morris on page 46 speaks of the film's “unmerited failure”