Begins with Marius leaving--with letter. CRAPPY--never see him until much later
American actors--not a good thing
lacks the beauty of the 61 version.
There's also a french made trilogy
pagnol.
Until I stumbled upon this film on YouTube, I had no idea that Hollywood made a version of Marcel Pagnol's novel "Fanny" before the much more famous 1961 version. By comparison, this 1938 version is far inferior...and the same can be said when you compare it to the French-made trilogy from the 1930s.
This is a summary based on the Pagnol story: Young Marius is in love with Fanny (here called Madelon due to the Production Code!) and vice-versa. However, he also is obsessed with going off to the sea on a merchant ship and Marius chooses the former. Unbeknownst to him, Fanny is pregnant! Not wanting to raise an illegitimate child, she marries an old man, Panisse, who loves her and adores the son that he takes for his own. Eventually, much later, Marius returns and expects to pick up where he left off.
The 1938 film begins strangely. It starts at about the same place the 1961 version was at the 30 minute mark! Yes, all the wonderful set-up for the story is gone. And, oddly enough, they chose never to show Marius until much, much later in the story--instead using a poor plot device to summarize most of the missing 30 minutes...a letter from Marius!
Additionally, the Production Code was a problem as Madelon/Fanny is supposed to be pregnant and unmarried...something the Code simply wouldn't allow...especially in 1938 when it was at its most restrictive. So how does this film deal with it? They still include it, though they talk around it a bit...again, because of the Code.
This is a film which is a failure on so many levels. None of the actors act or talk as if they are French...and you wonder why they didn't get some French actors to play these roles. In particular, Wallace Beery plays himself (or at least his movie persona) instead of Marius' father! Additionally, the direction by James Whale, a good director but one more adept with directing "Frankenstein", was pedestrian. The 1961 version was directed in a much more poetic, beautiful manner by Joshua Logan and the color cinematography and legitimate French locations made it an incredibly artistic film. In the 1938 film, Madelon is just some girl...in the 1961 version you, the viewer, fall for Fanny...she is just so radiant. My advice to you is to skip this one unless you are a die-hard Pagnol or classic Hollywood fan. I love Pagnol and classic Hollywood...and I was still pretty disappointed.
By the way, the French trilogy is probably almost a good as the 1961 version. While not as pretty, it is definitely more the vision of the author and sticks close to the three plays he wrote about Fanny.
