| La Poison | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sacha Guitry |
| Written by | Sacha Guitry |
| Produced by | Paul Wagner, Alain Poiré |
| Starring | Michel Simon Germaine Reuver |
| Cinematography | Jean Bachelet |
| Edited by | Raymond Lamy |
| Music by | Louiguy |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
La Poison [1] [2] is a 1951 French comedy drama film, written and directed by Sacha Guitry, starring Michel Simon with Jean Debucourt and Germaine Reuver. [3] [4]
Paul and Blandine Braconnier both have the same wish, to find a way of killing the other without being caught. She hits on rat poison, he, intrigued by a radio interview with a famous lawyer, decides to go to Paris to meet him. There he convinces the lawyer that he has already murdered his wife, and through the questions of the lawyer works out the best way to do it and get acquitted. On his return to the home town, their plans are put in place.
Guitry was determined to have Michel Simon in his film and asked the actor how he could make his participation satisfactory; Simon replied that he wanted only one take for his scenes. Guitry explained this to the technical crew, and this happened due to meticulous preparation by crew and actors. [5] Three cameras were used for the takes, except indoor dialogues where two were employed. All the sets were constructed in colour but filmed in black and white, in order to play the effect of their shades. [5] Notably, in a film in which he did not act, the introductory credits take the form of physical introductions and thanks by Guitry to each of the cast, the composer and key technical staff, even many of the extras. Filming was very short; a contemporary report stated "12 days and 3 hours" [6] while Knapp gives nine days.
The film was remade by Jean Becker as A Crime in Paradise in 2001. [7]
Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and followed his father into the theatrical profession. He became known for his stage performances, particularly in boulevardier roles. He was also a prolific playwright, writing 115 plays throughout his career. He was married five times, always to rising actresses whose careers he furthered. Probably his best-known wife was Yvonne Printemps to whom he was married between 1919 and 1932.
Sébastien Japrisot was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke down the established formulas "into their component pieces to re-combine them in original and paradoxical ways." Some critics argue that though Japrisot's work may lack the explicit experimental element present in the novels of some of his contemporaries, it shows influences of structuralist theories and the unorthodox techniques of the New Novelists.
Shadow and Light is a 1951 French psychological drama film directed by Henri Calef and starring Simone Signoret, María Casares and Jean Marchat.
Michel Simon was a Swiss-French actor. He appeared in many notable French films, including La Chienne (1931), Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932), L'Atalante (1934), Port of Shadows (1938), The Head (1959), and The Train (1964).
Royal Affairs in Versailles is a 1954 French-Italian historical drama directed by Sacha Guitry. Described as "a historical film showing Versailles from its beginnings to the present day", it tells some episodes through portrayal of the personalities who lived in the Palace of Versailles. Its sister films are Napoléon (1955) and If Paris Were Told to Us (1956).
The Pearls of the Crown is a 1937 French comedy film of historically based fiction by Sacha Guitry who plays four roles in it. Guitry's Jean Martin investigates the history of seven pearls, four of which end up on the crown of England, while the other three initially go missing.
A Crime in Paradise is a 2001 French comedy film directed by Jean Becker, adapted by Sebastien Japrisot from the story by Sacha Guitry, and starring Jacques Villeret and Josiane Balasko. The scenario was used on the film La Poison (1951).
The Virtuous Scoundrel, is a 1953 French comedy drama film directed and written by Sacha Guitry and starring Michel Simon, Marguerite Pierry and Laurence Badie. It was shot at Photosonor Studios in Paris and on location in the city. The film's sets were designed by the art director Aimé Bazin.
Life Together is a 1958 French comedy film directed by Clément Duhour. It features an ensemble star cast including Fernandel, Pierre Brasseur Lilli Palmer, Danielle Darrieux, Jean Marais, Edwige Feuillère, Gérard Philipe and Sophie Desmarets. The screenplay was written by Sacha Guitry, his final work before his death the same year.
Lucky Partners is a 1940 American romantic comedy film starring Ronald Colman and Ginger Rogers. Directed by Lewis Milestone for RKO Radio Pictures, it is based on the 1935 Sacha Guitry film Good Luck. The picture was the only film pairing of Colman and Rogers, and Rogers' eleventh and final film written by Allan Scott.
The Treasure of Cantenac is a 1950 French comedy film directed by Sacha Guitry and starring Guitry, Lana Marconi and Michel Lemoine. The film's sets were designed by the art director René Renoux.
Jacques Baumer, was a French theatre director and comedian.
Christian Gérard Mazas, known as Christian-Gérard, was a French stage and film actor as well as theater director.
Marc Robert Favart was a French actor, married to Jenny Carré, daughter of Albert Carré.
The Théâtre Édouard VII, also called théâtre Édouard VII – Sacha Guitry, is located in Paris between the Madeleine and the Opéra Garnier in the 9th arrondissement. The square, in which there is a statue of King Edward the Seventh, was opened in 1911. The theatre, which was originally a cinema, was named in the honour of King Edward VII, as he was nicknamed the "most Parisian of all Kings", appreciative of French culture. In the early to mid 1900s,under the direction of Sacha Guitry, the theatre became a symbol of anglo-franco friendship, and where French people could discover and enjoy Anglo Saxon works. French actor and director Bernard Murat is the current director of the theatre. Modern "boulevard comedies" and vaudevilles are often performed there, and subtitled in English by the company Theatre in Paris. Important figures in the arts, cinema and theatre have performed there, including Orson Welles, Eartha Kitt, and more. Pablo Picasso created props for a play at the Théâtre Edouard VII in 1944.
Léon Walther was a French film and stage actor who played on numerous occasions in Sacha Guitry's films and plays.
Jacques Sablon was a 20th-century French film actor.
Ô mon bel inconnu is a comédie musicale in three acts composed by Reynaldo Hahn with a libretto by Sacha Guitry. It was first staged at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris in 1933. The plot concerns the wife, daughter and maid of a Parisian hatter, who all reply to his 'lonely heart' advert, and takes place in Paris and Biarritz.
Let's Make a Dream is a 1936 French romantic comedy film directed by Sacha Guitry and starring Guitry, Raimu and Jacqueline Delubac. It is an adaptation of the 1916 play of the same title by Guitry. It was shot at the Epinay Studios on the outskirts of Paris, and distributed by the French subsidiary of Tobis Film. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Gys.
Deburau is a 1951 French historical comedy drama film directed by and starring Sacha Guitry alongside Lana Marconi, Robert Seller and Jeanne Fusier-Gir. It is based on Guitry's own 1918 play Deburau, inspired by the life of the eighteenth century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau. It was shot at the Francoeur Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director René Renoux.
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