Harvest (1937 film)

Harvest (French: Regain) is a 1937 French drama film directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Fernandel, Orane Demazis, Marguerite Moreno and Gabriel Gabrio. The narrative revolves around a farming village where only three inhabitants remain, but they are told that if only one of them, Panturle, manages to find a wife, the village will be able to prosper again. The film is based on the 1930 novel Second Harvest by Jean Giono. It was released in France on 28 October 1937 and in the United States on 2 October 1939.

Harvest
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Marcel Pagnol
Screenplay by	Marcel Pagnol
Based on	Second Harvest by Jean Giono
Produced by	Marcel Pagnol
Starring	Fernandel Orane Demazis Marguerite Moreno Gabriel Gabrio
Cinematography	Willy Faktorovitch Roger Ledru Pierre Arnaudy Henri Darriès
Edited by	Suzanne de Troye
Music by	Arthur Honegger
Production company	Les Films Marcel Pagnol
Distributed by	Compagnie méditerranéenne de films
Release date	29 October 1937 (1937-10-29)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	France
Language	French & Occitan

Cast

• Fernandel as Urbain Gédémus
• Gabriel Gabrio as Panturle
• Orane Demazis as Irène Charles, "Arsule"
• Marguerite Moreno as Zia Mamèche, "la Mamèche"
• Robert Le Vigan as the brigadier
• Henri Poupon as Panturle's farmer friend
• Odette Roger as Alphonsine
• Milly Mathis as Belline

Reception

Frank Nugent of The New York Times described Harvest as "a film of utter serenity and great goodness, so reverently played and so compassionately directed that it is far less an entertainment work than it is a testament to the dignity of man and to his consonance with the spinning of the spheres. Such faults as it possesses are mechanical; uneven editing, particularly in the early scenes; skimping of a few sequences that might have received more attention; attenuation of others that could have been cut. The flaws are obvious enough, yet they should not count too seriously against the work as a whole and still less seriously when one appreciates that the editing was on this side of the water (for space and time requirements) and cannot properly be held against Marcel Pagnol, its director, producer and adapter."^[1]

See also

• 1939 in film
• Cinema of France

References

1. Nugent, Frank S. (1939-10-03). "'Harvest,' Jean Giono's Pastoral of Provence, Opens at the World After Reversal of Censor Ban". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-07-10.