''The Little King'' (French: ''Le petit roi'') is a 1933 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

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

and starring Robert Lynen,

Arlette Marchal Arlette Marchal (29 January 1902 – 11 February 1984) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1922 and 1951. She was born and died in Paris. Partial filmography * ''Mon p'tit'' (1922) * '' The Gardens of Murc ...

and

Béatrice Bretty Béatrice is a French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Béatrice Bonifassi (born ), French-born vocalist * Béatrice Dalle (born 1964), French actress * Béatrice de Camondo (1894–1944), French socialite and a Hol ...

.McCann p.68 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) * ...

. 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 ...

with

location filming 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 ...

in various places, including the resort town of

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

. It was made as a follow-up to Duvivier's 1932 hit '' The Red Head'', which also starred Robert Lynen in the title role.

Synopsis

A boy inherits the throne of a fictional European country. The young Michel VIII is surrounded by untrustworthy advisors and threatened by revolutionaries. He goes to the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

to recover his health, but then returns to his homeland.

Cast

* Robert Lynen as Michel VIII *

as La comtesse Slasko *

as Barbara *

Jean Toulout Jean Toulout (28 September 1887 – 23 October 1962) was a French film actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1911 and 1959. Selected filmography * '' La Digue'' (1911) * '' The Mask of Horror'' (1912) * '' The Tenth Symphony'' ...

as Le comte Marski *

Marcel Vallée Marcel Vallée (15 January 1880, in Paris – 31 October 1957, in Fontaine-le-Port) was a French actor, primarily of the theater. He began working in films with Max Linder in 1906. He appeared in some American films. Selected filmography * '' ...

as Storeck * Georgé as Le chambellan *

Hubert Prélier Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubert of Liège (or Hubertus) (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and m ...

as Pierre Zoltyk *

Paule Andral Paule Andral (14 September 1879 – 28 March 1956) was a French actress. Andral was born Paule Roucole in Paris and died in Nice in 1956. Selected filmography * '' Tarakanova'' (1930) * ''David Golder'' (1931) * '' The Rebel'' (1931) * '' The ...

as La régente *

Julien Clément Julien may refer to: People * Julien (given name) * Julien (surname) Music * ''Julien'' (opera), a 1913 poème lyrique by Gustave Charpentier * ''Julien'' (album), by Dalida, 1973 * "Julien" (song), by Carly Rae Jepsen, 2019 Places Un ...

as Le professeur Bonnard *

Camille Bert Camille Bert (1880–1970) was a French actor. Born Camille Léon Louis Bertrand in Orléans, he died in Paris in 1970. Selected filmography * '' Le secret de Rosette Lambert'' (1920) * '' The Thruster'' (1924) * '' The Vocation of André Carel'' ...

as Le professeur d'histoire *

Robert Le Vigan Robert Le Vigan (born Robert Coquillaud, 7 January 1900 – 12 October 1972) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1931 and 1943 almost exclusively in small or supporting roles. He was, according to film academic Gin ...

as Le fou * Charles Camus as Le docteur Jacklow *

Jeanne Méa Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, c.1412–1431), French folk heroine and saint * Jeanne Devos (religious sister) * Jeanne Devos (photographer) * Joan of Flanders, C ...

as Madame de Stenne *

Marcel Carpentier Marcel Maurice Carpentier (; 2 March 1895 – 14 September 1977) was a French Army general who served in World War I, World War II, and the First Indochina War. Early life Born on 2 March 1895 in Marseille, he was the eldest son in his family ...

as Le régent Paul * Louis Vasseur as Le colonel Kremof *

Maurice Schutz Maurice Schutz (4 August 1866 – 22 March 1955) was a French film actor. He starred in some 91 films between 1918 and 1952. Selected filmography * '' Quatre-vingt-treize'' (1920) * ''Au-delà des lois humaines'' (1920) * '' The Three Masks'' ...

as Métropolitain * Patricia Windrow as Lillie

References

Bibliography

* McCann, Ben. ''Julien Duvivier''. Oxford University Press, 2017.

External links

* 1933 films French drama films 1933 drama films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Julien Duvivier Films set in Europe Pathé films Films shot at Joinville Studios French black-and-white films 1930s French films {{1930s-France-film-stub