Marcel Paul Pagnol (<small>, also</small> ; ; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the . Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France's greatest 20th-century writers and is notable for his mastery of multiple literary genres —memoir, novel, theatre and film.

Early life

Pagnol was born on 28 February 1895 in Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône department, in southern France near Marseille, the eldest son of schoolteacher Joseph Pagnol and seamstress Augustine Lansot. He was secretly baptised at the Église Saint-Charles in Marseilles. Marcel Pagnol grew up in Marseille with his younger brothers Paul and René, and younger sister Germaine.

School years

In July 1904, the family rented the Bastide Neuve, About the same time, Augustine's health, which had never been robust, began to noticeably decline and on 16 June 1910 she succumbed to a chest infection ("mal de poitrine") and died, aged 36. Joseph remarried in 1912. During this time, he belonged to a group of young writers, in collaboration with one of whom, Paul Nivoix, he wrote the play, Merchants of Glory, which was produced in 1924. This was followed, in 1928, by Topaze, a satire based on ambition. He contacted Paramount Picture studios and suggested adapting his play Marius for cinema. The film was directed by Alexander Korda and released on 10 October 1931. His business came to a near-complete end during World War II as both the Nazi occupiers and the Vichy administration wanted to get hold of his film studio's equipment. Pagnol pretexted that his company was failing in order to sell it to Gaumont, and even destroyed the copies of his latest project, La Prière aux étoiles, so the German-controlled Continental Films could not get hold of it. He only kept one theater in Marseille. After the war, Pagnol created a new production company and rebuilt his filmmaking activity.

As a novelist

In 1945, Pagnol remarried to actress Jacqueline Bouvier, later known as Jacqueline Pagnol. In 1952, he gave Jacqueline the title role of Manon of the Spring, a two-part, 4-hour long film that he had written especially for her. In 1954, the death of their daughter Estelle was a tragedy from which he never quite recovered; he stopped making film afterwards. Jacqueline's support helped him write his successful books during the following years.

Film adaptations

In 1986, the two volumes of The Water of the Hills were adapted by filmmaker Claude Berri into the two films Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources.

In 1990, La Gloire de mon père and Le château de ma mère, Pagnol's affectionate reminiscences of childhood, were filmed by Yves Robert.

In 2000, Jacques Nahum produced Marius, Fanny, and César for French television.

In 2011, La Fille du puisatier was remade by Daniel Auteuil.

In 2013, Marius and Fanny were remade, also by Daniel Auteuil.

In 2022, Le Temps Des Secrets was adapted and filmed by Christophe Barratier.

Awards

  • 1939: Best foreign film for Harvest - New York Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 1940: Best foreign film for The Baker's Wife - New York Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 1950: Best foreign film for Jofroi - New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Tribute

On 28 February 2020 Google celebrated his 125th birthday with a Google Doodle.

Filmography

  • Marius (1931)
  • Fanny (1932)
  • Jofroi (1934)
  • Angèle (1934)
  • Tartarin of Tarascon (1934)
  • Merlusse (1935)
  • Cigalon (1935)
  • Topaze (1936), first version
  • César (1936)
  • Regain (1937)
  • Le Schpountz (1938)
  • La Femme du boulanger (1938)
  • Monsieur Brotonneau (1939)
  • La Fille du puisatier (1940); remade in 2011
  • La Prière aux étoiles (1941, unfinished, destroyed)
  • Naïs (1945)
  • The Pretty Miller Girl (1949, in colour)
  • The Ways of Love (1950)
  • The Prize (1950)
  • Topaze (1951, starring Fernandel), second version
  • Manon of the Spring (1952, later novelized and expanded as L'Eau des collines; and subsequently remade in 1986 in two parts as Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources)
  • Letters from My Windmill (Les Lettres de mon moulin) (1954)

Bibliography

  • Merchants of Glory (1925, theatre play)
  • Jazz (1926, theatre play)
  • Topaze (1928, theatre play)
  • Marius (1929, theatre play)
  • Fanny (1932, theatre play)
  • César (1936, theatre play)
  • La Gloire de mon père and Le Château de ma mère (1957, autobiographies)
  • Le Temps des secrets (1959, autobiography)
  • L'Eau des collines (1962, novel, in two volumes: Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources)
  • Le Temps des amours (1977, autobiography)
  • Le Masque de Fer (1965, essay)
  • Le secret du Masque de Fer (1973, essay; 2nd expanded edition)

See also

  • Lycée Français International Marcel Pagnol

Notes

:* Born 25 October 1869. Died 8 November 1951, age 82.

:* Born 11 September 1873. Died 16 June 1910, age 36.

References

Works cited

  • Castans, Raymond (1987). Marcel Pagnol. Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès.
  • Official website
  • Complete bibliography on and about Pagnol