The Beloved Vagabond | |
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Directed by | Curtis Bernhardt |
Written by | William J. Locke (novel) Greta Heller Wells Root Arthur Wimperis Walter Creighton Hugh Mills Curtis Bernhardt |
Produced by | Ludovico Toeplitz |
Starring | Maurice Chevalier Betty Stockfeld Margaret Lockwood Desmond Tester |
Cinematography | Franz Planer |
Edited by | Douglas Myers |
Music by | Darius Milhaud |
Production company | Toeplitz Productions |
Distributed by | Associated British (UK) Columbia Pictures (US) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Beloved Vagabond is a 1936 British musical drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Maurice Chevalier, Betty Stockfeld, Margaret Lockwood and Austin Trevor. [1] The film was made at Ealing Studios by the independent producer Ludovico Toeplitz.
In 1900, a poor but promising French architect (Gaston de Nerac) living in London woos the daughter (Joanne Rushworth) of a gentleman facing economic ruin through exposure of his financial wrongdoing. A rival for the hand of Joanne (Count de Verneuil) promises to resolve the father’s economic problems in return for the hand of Joanne. Gaston feels obliged to agree and returns to France taking with him Asticot, a young boy also living in the boarding house. (Gaston is very encouraging of Asticot’s drawing and he in return regards Gaston as a patron and friend. In the world of film, a boy running away with a man needs no further explanation… the boy becomes effectively de Nerac’s adopted son.)
During their meanderings in rural France, Gaston and Asticot meet a young woman, Blanquette, who is trying to support herself through music. They get together and become a musical partnership, finally moving to Paris where in a bar Gaston bumps into the Count de Verneuil – Gaston’s old rival – who is now married to Joanne. Shortly after the meeting, the Count dies and Joanne is once more a free woman.
Joanne meets with Gaston and they re-establish the warm relationship of old, a painful process for Blanquette who, by this time, has fallen in love with Gaston (though he is oblivious to this).
Gaston and Joanne return to London to make plans for their wedding. Gaston invites Blanquette and Asticot to the wedding and they bring with them the spirit of life on the road. This is fascinating for the other conservative guests but annoying for Joanne who relegates the two to the kitchen to be fed away from the other guests. This proves too much for Gaston who rows with Joanne. When Joanne reveals to Gaston the obvious – that Blanquette is in love with him—he races off to find his two friends. But they have already departed for the train to Dover and the ferry to France.
Gaston requires the help of a horseless carriage to get to Dover to join Blanquette and Asticot. On the boat, he surprises Blanquette and tells her that he wants to be with his wife. She is puzzled and looks around for another woman before realising that she is the wife Gaston is referring to. A happy ending is guaranteed.
The film was shot in English and French versions with different supporting casts. [2]
It was an early role for Margaret Lockwood.
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French singer, actor, and entertainer. He is best known for his signature songs, including "Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", "Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", and for his films, including The Love Parade, The Big Pond, The Smiling Lieutenant, One Hour with You, and Love Me Tonight. His trademark attire was a boater hat and tuxedo.
Joseph Kessel, also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE, was a British actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), The Man in Grey (1943), and The Wicked Lady (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film Cast a Dark Shadow. She also starred in the television series Justice (1971–74).
Curtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt.
Louis Jacques Marie Collin du Bocage, better known by the pen name Louis Verneuil, was a French playwright, screenwriter, and actor.
Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television.
Midshipman Easy is a 1935 British adventure film directed by Carol Reed and starring Hughie Green, Margaret Lockwood, Harry Tate and Robert Adams. The screenplay concerns a young man who runs away from home, joins the navy and goes to sea in the 1790s. He rescues a captive woman from a Spanish ship and battles pirates and smugglers. The film was based on the novel Mr Midshipman Easy (1836) by Frederick Marryat.
Club de femmes is a 1936 French film directed and written by Jacques Deval, and starring Danielle Darrieux.
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The Lovers of Lisbon is a 1955 French drama film directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Daniel Gélin, Françoise Arnoul, Trevor Howard and Betty Stockfeld. Two French exiles in Lisbon fall in love after each has murdered their respective spouse. It was based on a novel by Joseph Kessel.
77 Park Lane is a 1931 British thriller film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Dennis Neilson-Terry, Betty Stockfeld and Malcolm Keen. It is based on a 1928 play by Walter C. Hackett, and was shot at Walton Studios. A French-language version 77 Rue Chalgrin and a Spanish-language version Between Night and Day were made at the same time.
Who's Your Lady Friend? is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Carol Reed and starring Frances Day, Vic Oliver and Betty Stockfeld. The secretary of a beauty specialist accidentally brings the wrong person back from the railway station, triggering a series of confusions. It was based on a comedy play by Bela Jenbach and Rudolf Österreicher, which had previously been made into an Austrian film The Gentleman Without a Residence three years earlier. It was an independent production made at Ealing Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Erwin Scharf.
The Beloved Vagabond is a 1923 British romantic drama film directed by Fred LeRoy Granville and starring Carlyle Blackwell, Madge Stuart, Jessie Matthews and Phyllis Titmuss. The film is based on the 1906 novel The Beloved Vagabond by William John Locke.
Nine Bachelors is a 1939 French comedy film directed by Sacha Guitry and starring Guitry, Max Dearly and Elvire Popesco.
Charles Carson was a British actor. A civil engineer before taking to the stage in 1919, his theatre work included directed plays for ENSA during WWII.
The Beloved Vagabond is a 1915 romantic drama film directed by Edward José and starring Edwin Arden. Originally, prints of the film were hand-colored. Darius Milhaud wrote the music to be played with this silent film.
This is a summary of 1936 in music in the United Kingdom.
Georges Berr in Paris, was a French actor and dramatist, a member and sociétaire of the Comédie-Française from 1886 to 1923.
Captivation is a 1931 British romantic comedy film directed by John Harvel and starring Conway Tearle, Betty Stockfeld and Violet Vanbrugh.It was shot at the Beaconsfield Studios near London. A second feature, it has been classified as a quota quickie.
The New Rich is a 1938 French comedy film directed by André Berthomieu and starring Raimu, Michel Simon and Betty Stockfeld. It is based on a 1917 stage farce of the same title by Charles Albert Abadie and Raymond de Cesse. It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Jacques Colombier and Eugène Lourié.