La Maternelle (film)

This article is about the film. For the 1904 novel, see La Maternelle.

La Maternelle (Children of Montmartre)
Scene
Directed by	Jean Benoit-Lévy Marie Epstein
Written by	Screenplay: Jean Benoit-Lévy Marie Epstein Story: Léon Frapié
Starring	Madeleine Renaud
Music by	Edouard Flament
Cinematography	Georges Asselin
Distributed by	Denmark: Kosmofilm (1934) (theatrical) United States: Metropolis Pictures (1935) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
Release date(s)	France: 16 September 1933 (Paris) Germany: 12 October 1933 Austria: 25 March 1934 (Wien) Finland: 14 October 1934 United States: 14 October 1935 (New York City, New York) - Nationwide: 15 November 1935
Running time	83 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

La Maternelle (International title: Children of Montmartre) is a 1933 French film directed and written by Jean Benoit-Lévy and Marie Epstein. It was adapted from Léon Frapié's Prix Goncourt winning novel La Maternelle (1904).^[1] In 1935, it was ranked as the 6th best foreign film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures,^[2] and has received a 8.4 ranking (out of 10) by 27 reviewers at the Internet Movie Database.^[3] It has also been noted as one of the earliest French films to use speech.^{[citation needed]}

Plot summary

Rose, a girl from a well off family faces a series of tragic events that leaves her penniless and without a home. She is hired as an attendant at a day-care center in Paris with 150 poor children. She finds herself tenderly caring for them and soon they become very fond of her. One young girl named Marie, who is the abandoned daughter of a prostitute, becomes so attached to Rose that she becomes jealous when anyone else steals her attention. She even tries to kill herself when she learns of her plans to marry Dr. Libois, the school's physician. Despite this, La Maternelle ultimately finds its way to a happy ending.^[4]

Cast

• Madeleine Renaud - Rose
• Mady Berry - Mme. Paulin
• Alice Tissot - Superintendent
• Paulette Elambert - Marie Coeuret
• Henri Debain - Dr. Libois
• Edmond van Daele - Pantin
• Alex Bernard - Professor

Critical reviews

In 1935, The New York Times called it "a film of extraordinary insight, tenderness and tragic beauty." And claimed that "Mr. Benoit-Levy presents a heart-breaking cross-section of this tatterdemalion kindergarten in such minor portraits as the little boy who has never learned how to smile." ^[5]

Also known as

• Children of Montmartre: International (English title)
• La maternelle: Italy (dubbed version)
• Moderhaender: Denmark
• Mutterhände: Germany

Connection to Feminism & French Cinema Studies

The author of the 1996 book To Desire Differently: Feminism & the French Cinema, Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, recently commented "I need to reaffirm that although my book deals with female authorship, the exquisite 1933 film LA MATERNELLE was made by two directors, Jean Benoit-Levy and Marie Epstein. For purposes of my book, I chose to emphasize Epstein's participation in the 11 feature films she made with Benoit-Levy. However, further research has indicated that in fact, Epstein co-directed some films and assisted on others. In this light, I wish to correct the mistaken impression that this is Marie's film alone. While I appreciate the fact that she has gotten much needed attention, I am emphatic about reinstating Jean Benoit-Levy as the primary director of LA MATERNELLE." ^[6]

References

1. ^ "La Maternelle." Movies. All Media Guide, Answers.com, 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/la-maternelle, accessed February 20, 2010.
2. ^ National Board of Review Awards 1935. Answers.com. Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/national-board-of-review-awards-1935, accessed February 20, 2010.
3. ^ "La Maternelle", IMDB.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024310/, accessed February 20, 2010.
4. ^ Hal Erickson, "La Maternelle." Movies. All Media Guide, Answers.com, 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/la-maternelle, accessed February 20, 2010.
5. ^ Andre Sennwald, "Movie Review: La Maternelle (1933)", The New York Times, October 15, 1935, http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E06E3DA1239E632A25756C1A9669D946494D6CF, accessed February 20, 2010.
6. ^ Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, PhD. Associate Professor in English and Cinema Studies at Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and author of To Desire Differently: Feminism & the French Cinema, July 4th 2007, http://www.imdb.com/user/ur15920897/comments, accessed February 21, 2010.

External links

• La Maternelle at IMDB