Reunion in France

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Movie
Original title Reunion in France
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1942
length 99 minutes
Rod
Director Jules Dassin
script Jan Lustig , Marc Connelly
production Joseph L. Mankiewicz for MGM
music Franz Waxman
camera Robert H. Planck
cut Elmo Veron
occupation

Reunion in France is a 1942 American film starring Joan Crawford and John Wayne and directed by Jules Dassin .

action

Michele de la Becque, a young woman who has become wealthy through marriage, runs an elegant fashion salon in Paris. She has a relationship with the financial magnate Robert Cortot, who has good contacts with the German occupiers. While the rest of the country starves in misery and material need, Michelle indulges her life in luxury and without worries. One day she makes the acquaintance of Pat Talbot, an American bomber pilot who was shot down over Paris. He blames Michelle for her lack of patriotism. The young woman is deeply concerned. When she discovers that Robert is collaborating with the Germans, Michele takes heart and flees with Pat. In the end, it turns out that Robert is actually a patriot who only appears to be a sympathizer of the occupying forces. Pat can safely escape to England and Michele decides to fight alongside Robert against the Germans and for a free France.

background

Joan Crawford's career had been in a permanent crisis since the mid-1930s. Her attempt to secure the approval of her fans by switching to the dramatic field ultimately failed. Too often her wardrobe got better reviews than she did and it wasn't until 1939 that she made the leap to character roles with her appearance in a relatively small role in The Women under the direction of George Cukor . Despite some successes, such as in Die Frau mit der Scar , the end of her studio contract with MGM was meanwhile foreseeable and was also openly discussed in the specialist press. Louis B. Mayer's lack of confidence in the future of the actress was reflected in the quality of the scripts offered. Instead of Madame Curie or Found Years , both of which went to Greer Garson , Crawford had Reunion in France .

To his own surprise, Jules Dassin found himself employed as a director for the film and had to learn on the occasion that the interests of the - predominantly female - fans of a Crawford film were more in the direction of costumes and wardrobe and less about content-related aspects such as credibility and turned internal logic. While Dassin wanted to bring a realistic and brutal depiction of hardship, misery and violence in occupied France to the screen, the producers quickly convinced him that Crawford would have to wear a new ensemble with matching hats and gloves in every scene in the greatest need. The film was initially in production as a Reunion and was only renamed Reunion in France immediately before its release on December 25, 1942 .

Crawford was well aware of the poor quality of production. In an interview with Roy Newquist, she said about this adventure:

"My God. If there is life after death and then I am punished for my sins, I have to watch this movie over and over again. [...] Take John out of the saddle and you have a problem. In any case, I had a nice selection of costumes. (Seriously, I think I was so intimidated by a bad script at the time that I just stepped in. My fighting spirit was dead; I let my personal problems take the upper hand over professional procedures and I just went with the flow. It's bad to admit that, but it is true and today I regret it. I had enough strength to fight back and just didn't do it. "

Theatrical release

At $ 1,054,000, it was an average expensive production. The film grossed a comparatively small amount of US $ 1,046,000 in the US, plus foreign income of US $ 817,000. The cumulative total of $ 1,863,000 was the average that the actress' productions have since achieved. It ended up with a modest profit of $ 222,000.

criticism

The critics did not like the film and accused it of hollow pathos and a lack of logic.

TS said in the New York Times :

“This is not a film about the brutal and dogged fighting in France today, it is just a compulsory exercise in melodramatic banalities for a popular star. In the role of a spoiled, rich woman who finds her "destiny" during the defeat of France, Joan Crawford is appropriate to the role, but not to the subject [...] Miss Crawford, as usual, carries a whole series of ensembles that certainly will attract more attention from the female audience than the film itself. "

Joseph Pihodna put the problem in a nutshell in the New York Herald Tribune :

Suffice it to say, Miss Crawford appears in enough new clothes to keep the producers and female viewers happy. With all the intricacies in the plot, Miss Crawford as Michele de la Becque doesn't necessarily make all of the sacrifices the script suggests. Dressing like a refugee is not part of her contract. "

literature

  • Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
  • Shaun Considine: Bette and Joan. The Divine Feud . Dutton, New York 1989, ISBN 0-525-24770-X .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
  • Bob Thomas: Joan Crawford. A biography . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1978, ISBN 0-297-77617-7 .
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oh, God. If there is an afterlife, and I am to be punished for my sins, this is one of the pictures they'll make me see over and over again. [...]. Get John out of the saddle and you've got trouble. At least I had a nice collection of gowns to wear. (Seriously, by this time I think a bad script intimidated me to the point where I just surrendered. The fight was gone; I let personal problems override professional judgment, and I just swam with the tide. That's a terrible thing to say, but It's true, and now I regret it. I had enough clout to fight back and I didn't do it.)
  2. ↑ It is not a picture of France as it fights today in ways devious and dark; it is more simply a stale melodramatic exercise for a very popular star. In the role of a spoiled rich woman who finds her "soul" in the defeat of France, Joan Crawford is adequate to the story provided her, but that is hardly adequate to the theme. [...] Miss Crawford as usual makes an elegant manikin for a series of ensembles that probably will excite more female comment than the picture itself.
  3. ↑ Suffice to say that Miss Crawford appears in enough new dresses to please producers and the feminine audience. With all the evidence in, Miss Crawford, as Michele de la Becque, isn't making all the sacrifices implied in the script. She has certain prerogatives. Dressing like a refugee is certainly not in her contract.