''God Needs Men'' (French: ''Dieu a besoin des hommes'') is a 1950 French

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Jean Delannoy Jean Delannoy (; 12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Biography Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a Pro ...

and starring

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (; 4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company ...

Madeleine Robinson Madeleine Robinson (born Madeleine Svoboda; 5 November 1917 – 1 August 2004) was a French actress. She was born to a French mother and Czech father near Paris. She was orphaned at the age of 14, and worked to support herself and her two younge ...

and

Daniel Gélin Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French film and television actor. Early life Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin. When he was ten, ...

. The film is based on a 1944 novel ''Un recteur de l'Île de Sein'' by Henri Queffelec. It was shot at the

Billancourt Studios Billancourt Studios was a film studio in Paris which operated between 1922 and 1992. Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, it was one of the leading French studios.Szczepanik & Vonderau p.141 It was founded in the silent era by Henri Diamant-Berger. Dur ...

in Paris.

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 on the

Île de Sein The Île de Sein is a Breton island in the Atlantic Ocean, off Finistère, eight kilometres from the Pointe du Raz (''raz'' meaning "water current"), from which it is separated by the Raz de Sein. Its Breton name is ''Enez-Sun''. The islan ...

off

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. 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 ...

. It was originally due to be the French entry at the

1950 Venice Film Festival The 11th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 20 August to 10 September 1950. The Golden Lion of Saint Mark was awarded to '' Justice Is Done'' by André Cayatte. History Recognized as the oldest film festival in the world, ...

but it was withdrawn due to fears that its subject might offend the Catholic Church. However, due to its popularity, including amongst Catholics, it was accepted for screening at the Festival anyway.Johnson p.295 At the 1951 Berlin Film Festival it won the Special Prize for an Excellent Film Achievement.

Plot

On a rugged, poverty stricken island off the coast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

many of the inhabitants spend their time as wreckers preying on

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

s. Their wildness forces the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

to take refuge on the mainland. A

fisherman A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million Commercial fishing, commercial and Artisan fishing, subsistence fishers and Fish farming, fi ...

steps forwards to take his place and tries to uphold religion on the island.

Cast

as Thomas Gourvennec *

as Jeanne Gourvennec *

as Joseph le Berre *

Antoine Balpêtré Antoine Balpêtré (; 3 May 1898 – 28 March 1963) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1933 and 1963. Partial filmography * '' The Agony of the Eagles'' (1933) - Le commandant Thiéry * '' The Hous ...

as Le père Gourvennec, un pêcheur *

Germaine Kerjean Germaine Kerjean (1893–1975) was a French stage and film actress.Crisp p.306 She spent a decade with the Comédie-Française. In films she frequently played character role A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, ...

as Mme Kerneis * Sylvie as Coise Karbacen *

Jean d'Yd Jean Paul Félix Didier Perret, who used the stage name Jean d'Yd, was a French actor and comedian who was born in Paris on 17 May 1880. He died in Vernon, Eure, France on 14 May 1964. Selected filmography *1923: ''La Dame de Monsoreau (film ...

as Corentin Gourvennec *

Daniel Ivernel Daniel Ivernel (3 June 1920 – 11 November 1999) was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1947 and 1981. Filmography References External links * 1920 births 1999 deaths French male film actors Actors from Versai ...

as François Guillen *

Raphaël Patorni Raphaël Patorni (1911–1986) was a French film actor.Hayward p.439 Selected filmography * ''The Mysteries of Paris'' (1943) * '' The Island of Love'' (1944) * ''Jericho'' (1946) * ''The Secret of Florida'' (1947) * ''Vertigo'' (1947) * '' Colom ...

as Jules * Lucienne Bogaert as Anaïs Le Berre *

Marcel Delaître Marcel Delaître (1888–1963) was a French film and stage actor.Crisp p.94 Selected filmography * '' Happy Hearts'' (1932) * ''Lilac'' (1932) * '' Poliche'' (1934) * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Girls ...

as M. Kerneis * Fernand René as Yves Lannuzel *

Charles Bouillaud Charles Bouillaud (11 May 1904 – 12 June 1965) was a French actor. Selected filmography {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouillaud, Charles 1904 births 1965 deaths French male stage actors French male film actors French male television actors 20th-cen ...

as Le gendarme *

René Génin René Génin (25 January 1890 – 24 October 1967) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1931 and 1965. Selected filmography * ''Vertigo'' (1935) * '' The Mutiny of the Elsinore'' (1936) * '' The Bri ...

as Le père d'Yvon *

Jean Brochard Jean Brochard (; 12 March 1893 – 17 June 1972) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' A Man's Neck'' (1933) - Petit rôle (uncredited) * ''Boubouroche'' (1933) * '' ...

as L'abbé Kerhervé, le recteur de Lescoff *

Jean Carmet Jean Carmet (; 25 April 1920 – 20 April 1994) was a French actor. Life and career Jean Carmet began working on stage and then in film in the early 1940s becoming a very popular comedic actor in his native country. He is best known internat ...

as Yvon *

Andrée Clément Andrée Clément (7 August 1918 – 31 May 1954) was a French film actress.Hayward p.461 Her husband was killed in 1940 during the Battle of France. She herself died from tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "whi ...

as Scholastique Kerneis *

Marcelle Géniat Marcelle Géniat (1881-1959) was a French film actress.Goble p. 121 She was born Eugénie Pauline Martin in St. Petersburg, Russia, to French parents. Partial filmography * ''Le retour du passé'' (1916) * ''L'imprévu'' (1917) - Hélène Rav ...

as La mère Gourvennec *

Jérôme Goulven Jerome (c.347–420) was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian from Dalmatia. Jerome may also refer to: People Given name * Jerome (given name), a masculine name of Greek origin, with a list of people so named * Saint Jerome (disambiguat ...

as Le brigadier * Cécyl Marcyl as La vieille *

Albert Michel Albert Michel (1909–1981) was a French stage, film and television actor.Paietta p.40 Selected filmography * ''Je chante'' (1938) - Un laitier (uncredited) * ''Ne bougez plus'' (1941) - Clanpinet * ''Chèque au porteur'' (1941) * ''Fièvres' ...

as Le Bail *

Jean-Pierre Mocky Jean-Pierre Mocky (6 July 1929 – 8 August 2019), pseudonym of Jean-Paul Adam Mokiejewski, was a French film director, actor, screenwriter and producer. Early life and education Mocky was born on 6 July 1929 in Nice, France, to Polish immigra ...

as Pierre *

Pierre Moncorbier Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

as Un pêcheur

References

Bibliography

*Johnson, William Bruce. ''Miracles & Sacrilege: Roberto Rossellini, the Church and Film Censorship in Hollywood''. University of Toronto Press, 2008.

External links

* 1950 films 1950s historical drama films French historical drama films 1950s French-language films Films directed by Jean Delannoy French black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Jean Aurenche Films with screenplays by Pierre Bost Films shot at Billancourt Studios Films set in Brittany Films set in the 1850s 1950s French films Films scored by René Cloërec French-language historical drama films {{1950s-France-film-stub