''First Ball'' (French: ''Premier bal'') is a 1941 French

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed 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 ...

and starring Marie Déa, Fernand Ledoux and Raymond Rouleau.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.309 It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 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 ...

René Renoux René Renoux (1904–2000) was a French art director.Buache p.162 Selected filmography * ''The Pure Truth'' (1931) * ''Topaze (1933 French film), Topaze'' (1933) * ''Prince Jean (1934 film), Prince Jean'' (1934) * ''The Lady of the Camellias (193 ...

Cast

* Marie Déa as Nicole Noblet * Fernand Ledoux as Michel Noblet * Raymond Rouleau as Jean de Lormel * Gaby Sylvia as Danielle Noblet * François Périer as Ernest Vilar * Gabrielle Fontan as Marie * Jean Brochard as Thomas * Bernard Blier as Le maitre d'hôtel * Charles Granval as De Lormel, père * Marcel Maupi as Mélik * Anthony Gildès as Le facteur * Louis Salou as François

References

Bibliography

* Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1941 films French comedy films 1941 comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Christian-Jaque French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films scored by Georges Van Parys Films with screenplays by Charles Spaak {{1940s-France-film-stub