Gervaise

France, 1955

Film
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Abandonned by her lover shortly after her arrival in Paris, Gervaise brings up her two children while working as a laundress. She marries Copeau, a carpenter and they have a daughter Nana. Gervaise opens her own laundry business and the family prospers and thrives. Copeau has an accident and becomes handicapped. Dejected, he finds solace in alcohol and soons drags Gervaise in a downward spiral of poverty and alcoholism. To recreate the atmosphere of the popular areas of 19th century Paris, Rene Clement drew inspiration from photographs by famous pioneer photographer Nadar. Awards: Venice Film Festival 1956 Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Maria Schell ; British Academy Awards 1956 Best Foreign Actor: Francois Perier.

Credits: Producer, Annie Dorfmann ; director, Rene Clement ; writers, Jean Aurenche, Pierre Bost ; photography, Robert Juillard ; music, Georges Auric ; songs, Raymond Queneau ; costumes, Mayo.
Cast: Maria Schell, Francois Perier, Armand Mestral, Suzy Delair, Florelle, Jany Holt, Micheline Luccioni.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Rene Clement

producer

Annie Dorfmann

Duration

01:55:00:00

Production places
France
Production dates
1955

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

X000152

Languages

English

French

Subject category

Foreign language films

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Black and White

Holdings

16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)

Wikidata

Q225553

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/115984/ |title=Gervaise |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=7 May 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}