Toi, c'est moi (1936) and Prends la route (1937): mobilising desire in the operetta films of Jacques Pills and André Tabet. Issue 3 (3rd July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Powrie, Phil
• Is Part Of: Historical journal of film, radio and television. Volume 37:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 436
• Page End: 454
• Publication Date: 2017-07-03
• Subjects: Motion pictures -- History -- Periodicals; Broadcasting -- History -- Periodicals; 302.23409005
• DOI: 10.1080/01439685.2016.1189157
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0143-9685

Abstract

Abstract : Operetta films were one of the most popular film genres in France during the 1930s through to the 1950s. Some films were film versions of stage shows, others were made specifically for cinema. Jacques Pills and André Tabet formed a successful male duo in the 1930s, and made two largely forgotten but successful operetta films. Toi, c'est moi /You are Me (René Guissart, 1936) was originally a stage operetta, while their follow-up Prends la route /On the Road (Jean Boyer, 1937) was written for the cinema. Both of the films involve travel, the first to the colonies (the Antilles); the second, which has as its focus the popular pastime of touring, travel around France. As is the case for other musical films, both films are utopian, the second in particular corresponding to the aspirations that led to the short-lived but politically influential Popular Front 1936–1938.