Synopsis
The Provençal town of Tarascon is so enthusiastic about hunting that no game lives anywhere near it, and its inhabitants resort to telling hunting stories and throwing their own caps in the air to shoot at them. Tartarin, a plump middle-aged man, is the chief "cap-hunter", but following his enthusiastic reaction to seeing an Atlas lion in a travelling menagerie, the over-imaginative town understands him to be planning a hunting expedition to Algeria.
So as not to lose face, Tartarin is forced to go, after gathering an absurd mass of equipment and weapons. On the boat from Marseille to Algiers, he hooks up with a conman posing as a Montenegrin prince who takes advantage of him in multiple ways. Tartarin's gullibility causes him a number of misadventures until he returns home penniless but covered in glory after shooting a tame, blind lion.
A sequel Tartarin sur les Alpes appeared in 1885, followed by Port-Tarascon in 1890.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Tartarin de Tarascon has been adapted into cinematic form three times, in 1908, 1934, and 1962, with each work being titled after its point of reference. The earliest cinematic version was a short, filmed in 1908 by the pioneering magician-cum-director, Georges Méliès.
The second effort was the 1934 film, which was directed by Frenchman Raymond Bernard and starred Raimu in the role of Tartarin, as well as Sinoël, Fernand Charpin, and Charles Camus in other principal roles.
The 1962 film was directed by Francis Blanche and Raoul André, and starred Francis Blanche, Alfred Adam, Jacqueline Maillan, Bourvil, Robert Porte.
Belgian composer Arthur Meulemans (1884 -1966) created the "Ouverture voor Tartarin de Tarascon" for orchestra in 1955.
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Tartarin of Tarascon is a 1934 French comedy film directed by Raymond Bernard and starring Raimu, Fernand Charpin and Jean Sinoël. It is based on the 1872 novel of the same title by Alphonse Daudet. It was shot at the Joinville Studios in Paris and on location around Beaucaire and Tarascon in Southern France and Bou Saâda in French Algeria. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Lucien Carré and Jean Perrier. It was remade as a 1962 film of the same name directed by and starring Francis Blanche.
Tartarin of Tarascon is a 1962 French-Moroccan comedy film directed by and starring Francis Blanche alongside Alfred Adam, Jacqueline Maillan and Michel Galabru. It is based on the 1872 novel Tartarin of Tarascon by Alphonse Daudet, which had previously been made into a 1934 film of the same title. It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris and on location around Casablanca and Taroudant in Morocco. The film's sets were designed by the art director Louis Le Barbenchon.
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