Manon (1949): Clouzot’s WWII Romantic Melodrama, Starring Cécile Aubry, Michel Auclair, Serge Reggiani

To make ends meet, Manon is pimped out by Robert’s brother Leon (Serge Reggiani) in Paris.

Eventually, after a tragedy, they are forced to flee to North Africa.

In contrast to the thrillers that Clouzot is most known for, Manon is essentially melodrama. Nevertheless, there are a handful of striking scenes, such as Manon and Robert’s meeting in the bombed-out ruins of a church.

The compelling performances of the actors, who embody of the centra triangle, elevates the film (up to a point) and make it more enjoyable.  Nonetheless, placed in the overall context of Clouzot’s otherwise brilliant career, Manon is a minor work of art.

Michel Auclair, who plays the romantic lead in Manon, was an handsome actor of Serbian and French ancestry, known best for his roles in French cinema. While a major French star, he only had two English-language roles: as Professor Flostre in the 1957 musical Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, and as a French police investigator in Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 real-life thriller Day of the Jackal starring Edward Fox.

Cécile Aubry, who began her career as a dancer, was signed by 20th Century Fox. Her break as the star of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Manon brought her  leading role alongside Tyrone Power and Orson Welles in Henry Hathaway’s feature The Black Rose (1950). Aubry also appeared in Christian-Jacque’s Bluebeard (1952), one of the first French films in color. For short time, she was a Hollywood success with a lucrative contract at Fox, parents as publicity team, and regular presence in French magazines as the “perfect hybrid of Franco-American femininity.”

But Aubry’s career was short, interrupted by secret marriage to Si Brahim El Glaoui, eldest son of Thami El Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakesh, whom she met in 1950 while filming The Black Rose. They had one child (born 1956) before their divorce. She announced retirement from the screen in 1959, and went on to write children’s books.

Shot at the Victorine Studios in Nice, the movie also benefits from the inventive sets design by the famous art director Max Douy.

Critical Status:

The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Fest, and was a popular success in France with over 3 million tickets sold.

Curio Facts:

I n the first scene, a group of Jewish refugees on a boat is chanting in Hebrew Israel’s National anthem, “Hatikvah” (“The Hope”), part of which goes back in its lyrics to the late 19th century.

Cast
Serge Reggiani as Leon Lescaut
Michel Auclair as Robert Dégrieux
Cécile Aubry as Manon Lescaut
Andrex as Le trafiquant
Raymond Souplex as M. Paul
André Valmy as Lieutenant Besnard / Bandit Chief
Henri Vilbert as Le commandant du navire / Ship’s Captain
Héléna Manson as La commère
Dora Doll as Juliette
Simone Valère as Isé, la soubrette
Gabrielle Fontan as La vendeuse à la toilette