''Nana'' is a French-Italian film by

Christian-Jaque Christian-Jaque (byname of Christian Maudet; 4 September 1904 – 8 July 1994) was a French filmmaker. From 1954 to 1959, he was married to actress Martine Carol, who starred in several of his films, including ''Lucrèce Borgia'' (1953), ''M ...

starring

Martine Carol Martine Carol (born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer; 16 May 1920 – 6 February 1967) was a French film actress. Career Born Maryse Mourer (or Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer) in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, (France), she studied acting und ...

and

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

. An adaptation of the 1880 novel '' Nana'' by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

, it tells the story of two French aristocrats who are fatally ruined by their obsession for Nana, a mediocre actress and prostitute. Using the ancient theme of a worthless woman beguiling powerful men, the film portrays the moral corruption of the nominally Catholic court and nobility under the Second Empire.

Plot

Nana, who appears nightly at a downmarket Parisian theatre where her impudence and the scantiness of her costumes make up for her lack of dramatic talent, supplements her income by assignations with admirers. She catches the eye of Muffat, a faithful Catholic husband who is a trusted aide of the Emperor. By perseverance and heavy expenditure, he makes her his exclusive mistress in a palatial private residence. His wife leaves him, his daughter's fiancé breaks off their engagement, and his fortune has gone. Vandeuvres, his most persistent rival, imports a promising filly and bets heavily on her first race. Sure of a major coup, he persuades Nana to join him at the railway station for Italy. The horse wins and Nana starts packing her bags but, when the stewards find that the losing horse was doped, Vandeuvres commits suicide. Going round to Nana's mansion, Muffat finds her about to depart and, when she says she is leaving him for Vandeuvres, he strangles her.

Cast

as Nana *

as Count Muffat *

Jacques Castelot Jacques Castelot (born Jacques Marie Paul Éloi Storms) (11 July 1914 – 25 August 1989) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1938 and 1982. His brother was the writer André Castelot and their father was the S ...

as Duke of Vandeuvres *

Jean Debucourt Jean Debucourt (19 January 1894 – 22 March 1958) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1920 and 1958. Selected filmography * '' The Little Thing'' (1923) * ''Jean Chouan'' (1926) * '' Madame Récam ...

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephe ...

Walter Chiari Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles. Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originally ...

as Fontan *

Noël Roquevert Noël Roquevert (born Noël Louis Raymond Bénévent; 18 December 1892 – 6 November 1973) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1932 and 1972. Roquevert was born in Doué-la-Fontaine and was married ...

as Steiner, the banker *

Dora Doll Dora Doll (born Dorothea Hermina Feinberg; 19 May 1922 – 15 November 2015) was a French actress. Career One of her first screen appearances was as Juliette in Henri-Georges Clouzot's ''Manon'' (1949). She appeared as Lola in Jacques Becker's ...

as Rose Mignon *

Elisa Cegani Elisa Cegani (11 June 1911 – 23 February 1996) was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983. Partial filmography * ''Aldebaran'' (1935) - Nora Bandi * ''Cavalry'' (1936) - Speranza di Frassineto * ''The Countess ...

as Countess Muffat *

Paul Frankeur Paul Frankeur (29 June 1905 - 27 October 1974) was a French actor who appeared in films by Jacques Tati ('' Jour de fête'') and Luis Buñuel (''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' and '' The Phantom of Liberty''). He was sometimes credite ...

as Bordenave *

Pierre Palau Pierre Palau (13 August 1883 – 3 December 1966), often known simply as Palau, was a French actor. Palau was born Pierre Palau del Vitri in Paris and died at age 83 in Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France. Partial filmography * '' When Do You Commi ...

as Vénot *

Nerio Bernardi Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Nero'' (1922) * '' The Shep ...

as Prince of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

* Dario Michaelis as Fauchery * Daniel Ceccaldi as Lieutenant Philippe Hugon *

Marguerite Pierry Marguerite Pierry (26 December 1887, Paris – 20 January 1963, Paris) was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''On purge bébé'' (1931) * '' The Two Boys'' (1936) * '' The Citadel of Silence'' (1937) * '' Southern Mail'' (1937) * '' Con ...

as Zoé *

Luisella Boni Luisella Boni (born 24 July 1935) is an Italian actress. Born in Como, Lombardy as Luisa Angela Bozzo, Boni debuted in 1952 in Bernard Vorhaus' film ''Finishing School''. One of the most active actresses in Italian cinema between the early fifti ...

as Estelle Muffat * Jacqueline Plessis as

Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

Jacques Tarride Jacques Tarride (10 March 1903 – 5 October 1994) was a French actor. Biography He was born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris and died in La Loupe, Eure-et-Loir. He was the son of the actor Abel Tarride and the brother of the director Jean ...

as Mignon *

Paul Amiot Paul Amiot (29 March 1886 – 26 January 1979) was a French film actor. His career spanned some 63 years and he appeared in nearly 100 films between 1910 and 1973. In 1920 he appeared in Robert Péguy's ''Être aimé pour soi-même''. He was ...

as Police Commissioner *

Daniel Mendaille Daniel Mendaille (27 November 1885 – 17 May 1963) was a French stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly sixty years. Early life Born Daniel Henri Elie Mendaille in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Mendaille studied architecture at the Académie ...

as Le valet (uncredited)

References

External links

* 1955 films 1950s historical films Films based on works by Émile Zola Films directed by Christian-Jaque French historical films 1950s French-language films Italian historical films 1950s French films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-France-film-stub