Pierre Chenal

[tonyw]

According to Dudely Andrew's MISTS OF REGRET, a study of the French poetic realist film, Welles was impressed by the 1930s work of Pierre Chenal and studied his CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935) many times. Chenal directed poetic realist films as well as film noir in the 40s. He is generally forgotten today. But parallels between poetic realist doomed heroes and Michael 0'Hara seem evident especially when the latter is described as "a notorious waterfront agitator" in THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI. Unlike them, Michael survives but the film clearly demonstrates that things have changed in the post-war era.

[Glenn Anders]

Excellent new ground, tonyw.

Does any Wellesnetter have access to examples or clips of Pierre Chenal's work?

Glenn Anders

[Le Chiffre]

Thanks Tony. According to Leaming's book, Welles considered making his own film of the Dostoevsky (and considered THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV as well) but didn't do it. I'd never heard of Chenal, but I'd like to see his C&P sometime. He would later make a low-budget film of NATIVE SON in 1949. Here's a 5-minute excerpt on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckBvNE0qc9Y

This Amazon page for the VHS tape of CRIME says the film is in color, but I have my doubts about that.

http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Punishment- ... B00000F2ZP

[Glenn Anders]

Surfing around, Mike, I found evidence that you are correct. Pierre Chenal's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT seems available only in b & w.

His NATIVE SON would have been of interest, one would think, to Orson Welles, given his 1941 staging of the play based on the novel.

Chenal appears to have been an artist rather like Welles. He started big and slid into a decline, some of his finest films butchered. NATIVE SON, for instance, when funding in the United States was not forthcoming, French financial sources turned him away, too, and he was forced to go to Buenas Aires to shoot the film. The minor players and extras are non-professionals, and most of the known cast had unhappy careers. The film was cut from almost two hours to 87 minutes when brought to the U.S. According to Richard Corliss in Time Magazine, which lists it #1 among films about race, the footage has never been restored:

http://entertainment.time.com/2008/02/0 ... e-son-1951

Glenn

[Le Chiffre]

It's probably resting at the bottom of the ocean with the complete Ambersons.

[Le Chiffre]

I'm delighted to be wrong: a new restoration of the uncut version of Chenal's NATIVE SON recently played at the New York Film Festival:
http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2012/films/native-son

Film Comment article:
http://filmcomment.com/article/native-s ... -and-found

[Wellesnet]

Pierre Chenal's "Native Son" on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XITrnJqlh90

[tonyw]

It is good to know that this film has resurfaced. Since my last post on Chenal I can confirm that CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is definitely in black and white. Chenal is also the missing link between French poetic realism and film noir since he made many of the latter during the late 1930s in France some starring Erich von Stroheim. However, his STREET WITHOUT A NAME is generally regarded as the first French poetic realist film. That has yet to resurface in a subtitled version.