''The Red Inn'' () is a 1951 French

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director, screenwriter, set designer and costume designer who worked in films for over 50 years. He made films characterised by bourgeois Realism (arts), realism, anti- ...

and starring

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French comic actor. Born in Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, a town located in th ...

Françoise Rosay Françoise Rosay (; born Françoise Bandy de Nalèche; 19 April 1891 – 28 March 1974) was a French opera singer, diseuse,''Design'', Volume 9 1965 p. 24 and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure ...

and

Julien Carette Julien Henri Carette (23 December 1897 – 20 July 1966) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1964. Selected filmography * '' American Love'' (1931) - Lepape * ''Seul'' (1932) - Michel * '' Fun in the Ba ...

. It premiered on 19 October 1951. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of the film, directed by

Gérard Krawczyk Gérard Krawczyk (17 May 1953, Paris) is a French film director. He is of Polish people, Polish descent (his grandparents were from Częstochowa). Filmography Director * ''Homicide by Night'' (1984 in film, 1984) * ''Je hais les acteurs'' (a.k.a ...

, premiered in 2007.

Plot

Set in 1833, it tells the story of how a monk visits the inn l'

Auberge rouge L'Auberge rouge (The Red Inn) is an inn, originally named ''L'Auberge de Peyrebeille'' ("the Inn of Peyrebeille"), in the commune of Lanarce in Ardèche, bordering Issanlas and Lavillatte. In the 19th century, it was the site of a notorious Fren ...

in Peyrebeille, where the innkeeper confesses to a number of serious sins. The film is based on the actual crime case of the Peyrebeille Inn.

Production

The film was originally supposed to be an adaptation of

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

's 1831 short story '' The Red Inn'' ("L'auberge rouge"), as part of the commemoration to mark a hundred years since Balzac's death. When the financing encountered problems and took longer than expected, the filmmakers decided to keep the title, but change the project into a treatment of the events of the

in Peyrebeille, which are unrelated to Balzac's story. The story had been filmed twice before, as a 1910 French silent film adapted by

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

, and later as a 1923 film directed by

Jean Epstein Jean Epstein (; 25 March 1897 – 2 April 1953) was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's '' The Fall of the House of Usher'', he direc ...

, with both of those earlier versions sticking much closer to the original story.Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 267. . 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

Max Douy Max Douy (June 20, 1913 – July 2, 2007) was a French art director.Hayward p.245 Selected filmography * ''The Rules of the Game'' (1939) * ''There's No Tomorrow'' (1939) * '' The Trump Card'' (1942) * '' Goodbye Leonard'' (1943) * '' Paris Frill ...

Cast

as the monk *

as Marie Martin * Marie-Claire Olivia as Mathilde *

Jean-Roger Caussimon Jean-Roger Caussimon (24 July 1918 – 19 October 1985) was a "provocative, anarchising" French singer-songwriter and film actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1945 and 1985 but is better known for having worked with poet-singer Léo Ferr ...

as Dauvin *

Nane Germon Nane Germon (1909–2001) was a French television and film actress.Goble p.330 Selected filmography * ''Coup de feu à l'aube'' (1932) * ''A Weak Woman'' (1933) * ''Le rayon des amours'' (1933) - Nicole * ''Les aventures du roi Pausole'' (1933) ...

as Elisa *

Jacques Charon Jacques Charon (27 February 1920 – 15 October 1975) was a French actor and film director. Born in Paris, Charon trained at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (CNSAD) and made his début at the Comédie-Française in 1941. Du ...

as Rodolphe *

as Pierre Martin *

Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian (); 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life He was born to an Armenian family in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources. He m ...

as Barbeuf * Andrée Viala as La Marquise De La Roche de Glun *

Didier D'yd __NOTOC__ Didier is a French masculine given name and surname common throughout the Romance languages. It comes from the Ancient Roman name Didius. During the 5th century AD, with the Christianisation of ancient pagan names, it became associated ...

as Janou * Lud Germain as Fétiche *

Robert Berri Robert Berri (16 December 1912 – 22 November 1989) was a French film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1937 and 1979. Selected filmography References External links * 1912 births 1989 deaths French male film actors Male ...

as Le Cocher * André Cheff as Le dandy * André Dalibert as le bûcheron *

Manuel Gary Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

as Un gendarme * René Lefevre-Bel as Un gendarme

References

Bibliography

* Leahy, Sarah & Vanderschelden, Isabelle. ''Screenwriters in French cinema''. Manchester University Press, 2021.

External links

* Films set in 1833 Films set in France 1950s crime comedy films 1950s historical comedy films 1951 films Crime comedy films based on actual events French crime comedy films Films directed by Claude Autant-Lara French historical comedy films Films with screenplays by Jean Aurenche Films with screenplays by Pierre Bost French black-and-white films Films shot at Billancourt Studios 1950s French films Films scored by René Cloërec French-language crime comedy films French-language historical comedy films {{1950s-France-film-stub