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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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
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)