''Happy Arenas'' (French: ''Arènes joyeuses'') is a 1958 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

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 ...

and starring Fernand Raynaud, Danielle Godet and Colette Ripert. 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, René Sarvil and Vincent Scotto.

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 ...

and the

Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...

. 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 ...

Robert Giordani Robert Giordani (1902-1981) was a French art director.Pirolini p.182 He designed the sets for more than eighty productions during his career. Selected filmography * '' The Italian Straw Hat'' (1941) * '' The Crossroads'' (1942) * ''Promise to a S ...

.https://www.unifrance.org/film/2039/arenes-joyeuses The operetta had previously been made into the 1935 film '' Happy Arenas'' 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. ...

Cast

* Fernand Raynaud as Fernand Cyprien, de Chalamond * Danielle Godet as Marina * Colette Ripert as Marguerite * René Sarvil as Maître Arno * Jean Vinci as Rémy *

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 Hernandez *

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 clochard * Victoria Marino as Thérèsa *

Milly Mathis Milly Mathis (8 September 1901 – 30 March 1965) was a French actress who appeared in more than 100 films during her career. Born on 8 September 1901 as Emilienne Pauline Tomasini in Marseilles, France, she made her film debut with a small, uncr ...

as Mme. Arno * Luis Montez as Pablo *

Marie-José Nat Marie-José Benhalassa (22 April 1940 – 10 October 2019), known professionally as Marie-José Nat, was a French actress. Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' and '' Anatomy ...

as Violette *

André Vylar André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French language, French-spe ...

as Pepito

References

Bibliography

* 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

* 1958 films French comedy films 1958 comedy films 1950s French-language films Films directed by Maurice de Canonge 1950s French films Operetta films Films based on operettas Films set on the French Riviera Remakes of French films Films scored by Vincent Scotto {{1950s-France-comedy-film-stub