LES MISERABLES
France 1934, 305 minutes, Black and white.
Harry Baur, Charles Vanel.
Directed by Raymond Bernard.
Les Miserables is Victor Hugo's best-known novel. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, of course, would rival it in popularity. Both novels have been frequently filmed for cinemas and television.
This version is a classic French version of the early '30s. It was originally filmed for six hours and was screened ad two adjacent theatres with three-hour sessions. However, this seemed to be too difficult for exhibition and the film was edited to a version running almost 3 hours. The missing footage seems to be lost. The 3-hour version was also released as two films.
The storyline is familiar and is presented fairly straightforwardly in this version. In the edited copy, the early episodes of Jean Valjean's life are passed over and we see him being released. The film spends a deal of time on the episode with the bishop and the stolen cutlery. There is then a gap and Valjean appears as Monsieur Madeleine, a successful Merchant and Mayor of the town. It is at this stage that Inspector Javert appears. The bulk of the film is given to focusing on Fantine and Cosette, Valjean's going to the court to release the prisoner accused of being Valjean. The second film spends a great deal of time on the situation in Paris where Valjean is hiding, on the revolutionaries, the relationship between Cosette and Marius and, of course, finishes with the final confrontation of Valjean and Javert.
Each version highlights particular aspects of the novel. The strength of this film is in its portrait of Valjean, played by Harry Bauer, a French star of the '20s and '30s who appeared, for example, as Beethoven in Abel Gance's Beethoven's Greatest Love. Javert is played by Charles Vanel who was to appear in many French films including The Wages of Fear. He also appeared in Francesco Rosi's Three Brothers in 1979.
There was an American version of the novel in 1934 starring Fredric March and Charles Laughton as Javert. A 1952 remake starred Michael Rennie and Robert Newton. A long telemovie version was made with Richard Jordan as Valjean and Anthony Perkins as Javert.
A further version was made by Bille August with Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush in 1998 and Claude Lelouch made a more contemporary version. The popularity of the story is seen in the success of the musical version.
