''Happy Arenas'' (French: ''Arènes joyeuses'') is a 1935 French

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...

directed by

Karl Anton Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Biography He was born in Prague on 25 October 1898. His father, Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. ...

and starring

Lucien Baroux Lucien Baroux (born Marcel Lucien Barou; 21 September 1888 in Toulouse – 21 May 1968 in Hossegor) was a French actor. He began his career working in the theatre, moving on to a long career in films from the 1930s. In the field of musical comedy ...

Betty Stockfeld Betty Stockfeld (15 January 190527 January 1966), often misspelled "Stockfield", was an Australian film actress. She appeared mostly in British and French films. Betty was the daughter of Sydney businessman Harry Hooper Stockfeld and Susan Eli ...

and

André Alerme André Alerme (9 September 1877 – 31 January 1960) was a French actor. Alerme was born Marie André Alerme in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France and died at the age of 82 in Montrichard, Loir-et-Cher, France. Selected filmography * ''Black and Wh ...

. Powrie & Cadalanu p.248 It is an

operetta film Operetta films (German: Operettenfilm) are a genre of musical films associated with, but not exclusive to, German language cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century Viennese ope ...

, based on the 1934 operetta of the same title by Henri Allibert and

Vincent Scotto Vincent Scotto (21 April 1874 – 15 November 1952) was a French composer. Biography Early life Vincent Scotto was born on 21 April 1874 in Marseille to Pasquale Scotto d'Aniello and Antonia Intartaglia, from the island of Procida, north of th ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place around

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A ...

on the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Jean Lafitte. It was remade as a 1958 film of the same name directed by

Maurice de Canonge Maurice de Canonge (March 18, 1894 – January 10, 1979) was a French actor and film director.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.222 He is also sometimes known by the name Maurice Cannon. Selected filmography Director * ''Stowaway Olive'' (1931) * ''Olive se ...

. Notable as one of the European films photographed by American cinematographer

Harry Stradling Henry A. Stradling, A.S.C. (September 1, 1901 – February 14, 1970) was an American cinematographer with more than 130 films to his credit. His uncle Walter Stradling, son Harry Stradling Jr. and godson Gerald Perry Finnerman were also cinem ...

and the last appearance by the French celebrity

Polaire Émilie Marie Bouchaud''Polaire par elle-meme'', Éditions Eugène Figuière (1933), Paris. chapter 10: She calls herself Émilie Marie Bouchaud In 1930 her identity card was issued in the name "Emilie Polaire/ref> (14 May 1874 – 14 October 1939 ...

Cast

as Escopette *

as Betty *

as M. Gardy *

Lisette Lanvin Lisette Lanvin (1913–2004) was a French film actress.Goble p.6 Selected filmography * '' Student's Hotel'' (1932) * '' My Priest Among the Rich'' (1932) * ''Rouletabille the Aviator'' (1932) * ''Youth'' (1933) * '' One Night's Secret'' (1934) * ...

as Marguerite Cabissol *

Henri Alibert Henri Alibert (December 3, 1889 – January 23, 1951) was a French singer and film actor. He was sometimes credited simply as Alibert. Along with Vincent Scotto he was the driving force behind the Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) i ...

as Rémy de Martigues *

Rellys Henri Marius Roger Bourrelly (12 December 190520 July 1991), known by his stage name of Rellys, was a French actor.- Selected filmography * '' Three Sailors'' (1934) * '' Merlusse'' (1935) * '' Happy Arenas'' (1935) * ''That's Sport'' (1938) * '' ...

as Ficelle *

Rafael Medina Rafael Medina Rodríguez (born 8 October 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association footba ...

as Le torero Chico de Granada *

Marthe Mussine Marthe may refer to: * Marthe (given name) a feminine given name * ''Marthe'' (novel), an 1876 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans *''Marthe'', an 1877 play by Georges Ohnet * ''Marthe'' (film), a 1997 film by Gérard Jugnot People with the surname * W ...

as La bonne *

Lucien Callamand Lucien Callamand born Lucien Marie Pascal Eugène Callamand (1 April 1888 in Marseille – 3 December 1968 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes) was one of the earliest French film actors whose career spanned six decades of French cinema. Between 1909 and 1 ...

as Fadoli *

Jean Sinoël Jean Sinoël (13 August 1868 – 30 August 1949), often known simply as Sinoël, was a French actor and singer. Born Jean Léonis Blès in Sainte-Terre, Gironde, France, he died in Paris in 1949. Selected filmography * '' Captain Craddock'' (193 ...

as Le garçon d'hôtel *

Cécile Lemaire Cécile or Cecile is a female given name or surname. People Given name * Ce'cile (Cecile Charlton, born 1976), Jamaican musician * Severin Cecile Abega (1955–2008), Cameroonian author * Cécile Aubry (1928–2010), retired French film actress ...

as Violette Cabissol *

Fernand Charpin Fernand Charpin (30 May 1887 – 6 November 1944) was a French actor. He is known for his role as Honoré Panisse in Marcel Pagnol's Marseille trilogy, beginning with '' Marius'' in 1931. Selected filmography * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' ( ...

as Cabissol *

Félix Oudart Félix Charles Oudart (8 June 1881 – 10 August 1956) was a French stage and film actor.Goble p.452 Selected filmography * '' Crainquebille'' (1922) * '' Abduct Me'' (1932) * '' Toto'' (1933) * '' Theodore and Company'' (1933) * '' George and G ...

as Calixte *

as La bohémienne

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: 1935-1939''. Pygmalion, 1986. * Crisp, Colin. ''Genre, Myth and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939''. Indiana University Press, 2002. * Powrie, Phil & Cadalanu, Marie . ''The French Film Musical''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1935 films French comedy films 1935 comedy films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Karl Anton French black-and-white films 1930s French films Operetta films Films based on operettas Films set on the French Riviera Films scored by Vincent Scotto {{1930s-France-film-stub