''The Adventurer'' (French: ''L'Aventurier'') is a 1934 French

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

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

and starring Victor Francen, Blanche Montel and Henri Rollan.Crisp p.224 It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont Film Company, Gaumont making films there. A second studio was a ...

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 ...

and on location around

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

. 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 ...

Lucien Aguettand Lucien Aguettand (19 January 1901 – 14 December 1989) was a French art directorHayward p.205 who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Little Devil May Care'' (1928) * ''Checkmate'' (1931) * ...

and Robert Hubert. It is based on a 1910 play of the same title by

Alfred Capus Alfred Capus (25 November 18581 November 1922) was a French journalist and playwright, who was born in Aix-en-Provence and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Biography Son of a lawyer from Marseille, Alfred Capus went to university in Toulon. After fai ...

Synopsis

After more than a decade away, having been disowned by his family, Étienne Ranson returns to

from

French Africa French Africa includes all the historic holdings of France on the African continent. Françafrique French North Africa * Egypt (1798-1801) * French Algeria (1830–1962) * Protectorate of Tunisia (1881–1956) * Protectorate in Morocco (1 ...

having made a fortune. He discovers that his uncle's glovemaking business is now in serious trouble. Despite being rejected as the black sheep of his family, he is now regarded as a potential saviour.

Cast

* Victor Francen as Étienne Ranson/Pierre Stols * Blanche Montel as Marthe * Henri Rollan as André Varèse *

Gisèle Casadesus Gisèle Casadesus (14 June 1914 – 24 September 2017) was a French actress, who appeared in numerous theatre and film productions. She was an honorary member of the Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Grand Officer of the Legion of H ...

as Geneviève *

Alexandre Rignault Alexandre Rignault (14 February 1901 – 2 April 1985) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films between 1931 and 1985. Biography He was born on February 14, 1901 in Paris 5th, at his parents' home, rue Guy-de-La-Brosse. H ...

: Karl Nemo * Kissa Kouprine as Madame Nemo * Abel Tarride as Guéroy * Lucien Pascal as Jacques Guéroy *

Jean Joffre Jean Joffre (1872–1944) often styled simply as Joffre was a French film actor, film and stage actor.Crisp p.192 A character actor he played a variety of supporting roles in theatre and the cinema during his career. His final screen appearance wa ...

as Framié *

Pierre Juvenet Pierre Juvenet (1883–1951) was a French stage and film actor.Powrie p.231 A character actor, he appeared in more than a hundred films frequently portraying officials and authority figures. Selected filmography * '' The Mystery of the Yellow Ro ...

as the prefect * Paul Oettly as the leader * D'Ambreville as the old worker *

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

as the young worker * Huchet as Félix

References

Bibliography

* Crisp, Colin. ''French Cinema—A Critical Filmography: Volume 1, 1929-1939''. Indiana University Press, 2015.

External links

*
L'Aventurier (1934)
at the ''Films de France'' 1934 films French drama films 1930s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Marcel L'Herbier 1934 drama films 1930s French films Pathé films Films shot at Joinville Studios Films scored by Jean Wiener {{1930s-France-film-stub