''Mollenard'' is a 1938 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
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was ...
and starring
Harry Baur,
Gabrielle Dorziat and
Pierre Renoir. It was also known by the
alternative titles of ''Hatred'' and ''Capitaine Corsaire''. The film's sets were designed by
Alexandre Trauner. It is based on the
novel of the same name by the Belgian writer . The film's plot divides sharply into halves, with the first an action thriller set in China while the second is a social drama with the title character struggling to cope with what he regards as the suffocating atmosphere of his home port in France.
The film was shot at the
Joinville Studios in Paris and
on location. An English-language version starring
Victor McLaglen and
Ruth Chatterton was planned but never made.
Plot
Captain Mollenard is an uncouth, almost
piratical, commander of a
merchant ship
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
sailing out of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. When the ship's owners discover that Mollenard has been
selling arms on his own account, they decided to suspend him for six months. This horrifies his wife and children who have become used to his long absences. Mollenard hears news of his suspension while in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
where he and his deputy Kerrotret are trying to offload their latest cargo of arms. They become entangled with a ruthless and treacherous criminal Bonnerot and his chief henchman Frazer. Although they succeed in wounding Bonnerot, he takes his revenge by having his men plant a timed explosive device on board Mollenard's ship.
When the device starts a fire Mollenard and his men abandon ship, and returning to France find that they are now being hailed as heroes. The company, for
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
purposes, has to play along with Mollenard's new status and have to consider giving him a new ship. Mollenard causes great offence to the respectable members of the town following his return, and his wife's hatred for him grows stronger. Mollenard suddenly suffers from a collapse in his health, and comes increasingly under the domination of his detested wife – to the point that he considers shooting himself. When Kerrotret is giving command of a new ship in place of Mollenard, he and the crew rescue him from the Mollenard household and take him to sea so that he can die where he belongs.
Reception
In France the film received a generally strong reception from critics. It was particularly popular with left-wing supporters of the
Popular Front who celebrated its attack on respectable middle-class French society. When the film was released in the United States in 1941, critical reviews were much harsher. ''
Variety'' described it as "a drab and tiresome character study of a man and wife who hate each other".
The film was not a commercial success. Siodmak followed it up with the
noirish ''
Personal Column'', which did well at the box office.
[Bock & Bergfelder p.447]
Cast
*
Harry Baur as Captain Mollenard
*
Pierre Renoir as Bonnerot
*
Albert Préjean as Kerrotret
*
Gabrielle Dorziat as Mme. Mollenard
*
Gina Manès as Marina
*
Marta Labarr as Betty Hamilton
*
Ludmilla Pitoëff as Marie Mollenard
*
Foun-Sen as La chinoise
*
Liliane Lesaffre as L'entraîneuse
*
Marcel Dalio as Happy Jones
*
Jacques Louvigny as Truffier
*
Robert Lynen as Jean Mollenard
*
Arthur Devère as Joseph
*
Maurice Baquet as Le Joueur D'Harmonica
*
Jean Clarens as Le Lieutenant
*
Robert Seller as Le préfet
*
Tran-Van as You
*
Georges Vitray as Firmin
*
Walter Rilla as Frazer
*
Jacques Baumer as Le secrétaire général
*
Lucien Coëdel as Le bosco
*
Roger Legris as Le radio
*
Armand Lurville as Dubailly d'Elbeuf
*
Georges Mauloy as L'abbé Mangin
*
Marcel Melrac as Homme d'équipage
*
Pierre Sergeol as Fourcade
* Marcel Pérès as Homme d'équipage
*
Pierre Labry
* Ky Duyen
* Rodolphe Marcilly
* Habib Benglia
References
Bibliography
* Alpi, Deborah Lazaroff. ''Robert Siodmak: A Biography''. McFarland, 1998.
* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.
External links
*
{{Robert Siodmak
1938 films
French black-and-white films
French crime drama films
1938 crime drama films
1930s French-language films
Films directed by Robert Siodmak
Films set in Dunkirk
Films set in Shanghai
Seafaring films
Films based on Belgian novels
Films shot at Joinville Studios
Films scored by Darius Milhaud
Pathé films
1930s French films
French-language crime drama films
Films with screenplays by Charles Spaak