#les miserables 1935

[pureanonofficial]

LES MIS LETTERS IN ADAPTATION - Preface (Les Miserables 1935)

So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century—the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light—are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;—in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use. HAUTEVILLE HOUSE, 1862.

[mourningskvader]

[javertwenttoheaven]

About to watch Les Miserables (1935). Thoughts from people who have seen it?

[javertwenttoheaven]

Someone go back in time and tell them about those of us who have watched it 10+ times.

From the personal collection of Marilyn Knowlden (young Cosette) in Les Miserables (1935)

[wanderinghedgehog]

I think we all know how I feel about the cinematography in Les Mis 1978, but I kinda wanna try looking at some other adaptations from a filmmaking perspective. 1998 is probably my next target.

[hotvintagepoll]

The great thing about the shadow bracket is that King Fredric March and King Consort Anthony Perkins both starred, respectively, in the 1935 and 1978 adaptations of Les Miserables, March as Valjean, Perkins as Javert. Both of these adaptations are bad, albeit in very different ways. (1935 is the Red Scare Les Mis and 1978 is just...I don't know how to explain it except that it's bad, insanely paced, and Anthony Perkins is very intense and gay in it -- he's the best part.) Truly, a huge win for lovers of both Bad Les Mis Adaptations and hot sad losers!

this is SO GOOD. Hurrah for the Bad Les Mis lovers and losers!!

[angstics]

[listening to the same recording of les mis ive been listening to for months] cant wait to go home to watch a boot of les miserables and buy tickets to watch Les Miserables. And watch the fredric march movie. Of les miserables (book adaptation he plays valjean which is INSANE. In 1935 no less when he’s a baby [38])

[scotianostra]

Frank Lloyd, the Scottish film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer passed away on August 10th 1960 aged 74.

He maybe and obscure relatively unknown nowadays, but Lloyd has the distinction of being the first Scot to win an Oscar

Lloyd was born in Glasgow on Feb. 2, 1887, and went to Canada at the age of 23 to work as a construction engineer.

He came to Hollywood in 1913 and made his start directing one and two-reel silent movies. He made 50 such pictures in the first year.

He won Oscars for his direction of "Divine Lady" in 1929 and "Cavalcade" in 1933. He was nominated in 1935 for his direction of "Mutiny on the Bounty," and although he lost the award to John Ford, the film received the Academy Award for best picture.

Other films of Lloyd's direction included "Les Miserables" (1917), "A Tale of Two Cities" (1917), "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1918), "The Eternal Flame" (1922), "Oliver Twist" (1922), "Ashes of Vengeance" (1923), "Within the Law" (1923), "The Divine Lady" (1929) and "Drag" (1929). He was also credited as a screenwriter on "Les Miserables," "Riders of the Purple Sage," "Oliver Twist," "Ashes of Vengeance" and a number of other pictures.

Beyond his directing career, he also worked as a producer and acted in a number of his own early films. He also served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1934 to 1935.

During World War II, he entered the Army Air Corps as a major and won the Legion of Merit and the Air Medal. He was commanding officer of the 13th Air Force Combat Camera Unit and directed a Pacific airpower documentary.

Lloyd retired from filmmaking in 1945 to live on his ranch at Carmel Valley, but later returned to Hollywood to work on "Shanghai Story" and "Last Command."

He died in 1960 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., following several months of heart and lung trouble, at the age of 73.

[gatutor]

Cartel película "Los miserables" (Les misérables) 1935, de Richard Boleslawski.

[project1939]

200 Films of 1952

Film number 189: Les Miserables

Release date: August 14th, 1952 

Studio: 20th Century Fox 

Genre: drama 

Director: Lewis Milestone 

Producer: Fred Kohlmar 

Actors: Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, Robert Newton, Edmund Gwenn, Cameron Mitchell 

Plot Summary: Based on the epic Victor Hugo novel, we see Jean Valjean sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Meeting a kindly bishop who helps him get on his feet after his release, Valjean tries to do good in the world. He breaks his parole, however, and a malevolent French Inspector named Javert becomes obsessed with catching him. 

My Rating (out of five stars): ***¾ 

I’ve never seen the 1935 Hollywood version of this film, which everyone seems to agree is far superior to this. Without that lens to view it through, I thought this 1952 version was pretty good- not great exactly, but quite good. There are a few performances in it that make it worth watching, and Lewis Milestone’s direction was visually striking.  

The Good: 

Robert Newton as Javert. He was the best part of the film for me. He played the role with a creepy, imposing, desperately obsessive edge, which was exactly what was required. 

Javert the character. One of the great characters in literature, his obsessive drive for a machine-like “justice” combined with his traumatic past creates some damn good complexity. 

Michael Rennie as Valjean. Rennie will forever be the regal alien in The Day the Earth Stood Still for me, and I love him for it. Here he played Valjean with a lot of sympathy, conveying much through his eyes and expressions. 

Edmund Gwenn as the Bishop. Who can ever resist the charms of this man? 

Cameron Mitchell as Marius. He played an idealistic revolutionary well. 

The direction by Milestone. It was a very interesting film from a visual standpoint. The close-ups were used well, and there were a lot of cool shot compositions. It was also the ideal kind of situation where things were distinctive and creative, but it didn’t pull you out of the movie. 

I thought the film did a good job compressing a longer story into a shorter period of time. 

The courtroom scenes were particularly visually arresting (pun!)- with a truly nightmarish feel. I’m sure they were influenced by the devastating 1928 French film The Passion of Joan of Arc, because I couldn’t help but think of it. 

The political and philosophical messages were conveyed without hitting you over the head with it. 

The line by Robert near the end to Javert: “How does success taste after all these years?” Chills! 

The Bad: 

Rennie was good, but maybe a little too restrained? 

Debra Paget as Cosette. Most of the blame can probably go to the script and the Hollywood portrayal of these kinds of roles at the time. She overacted, falling into that “innocent damsel” stereotype. 

Debra Paget’s makeup. How she could have been in a mid 19th century convent school with that kind of makeup on her face is laughable. 

All the talk of a high school girl being “a desirable woman” ready for marriage. Yes, it was historically accurate to the 19th century, but it was still super gross watching it now. 

The hint of incest also grossed me out. I know Valjean was only Cosette’s non-genetic guardian, but she constantly called him father. It’s not technically incest, but... eew. 

The use of the intertitles that came on the screen as chapter dividers was inane and totally unnecessary. 

I don’t know that this is bad per se, but I find it funny that Hollywood favors using English actors to play European roles, especially if they are larger protagonist roles. I could list examples, but we’d be here forever. It’s just weird to me, because why don’t you ask an English person how French or German they feel...  

[pureanonofficial]

LES MIS LETTERS IN ADAPTATION - Authority Reasserts Its Rights, LM 1.8.4 (Les Miserables 1935)

Jean Valjean laid his hand upon the detaining hand of Javert, and opened it as he would have opened the hand of a baby; then he said to Javert:—

“You have murdered that woman.”

[gloomth-and-wanderings]

Ahoy there!

welcome to my blog!

he/him, call me Frankie or gloomth (if you're on les mis letters or whale weekly discord you might also know me as Walpole!)

my other haunts: I run @lmchaptertitlebracket, I'm bean_valbean on ao3, and I'm PlaidFrankie on letterboxd :3

(tags/more info under the cut)

profile picture is Joseph Cotten in Journey Into Fear with the hair of Enjolras from Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette edited on; header picture is Jonathan Richman from Live on Toppop 1978; blog title is a quote from hit film She (1935)

Some tags:

#my art is my art, #frankie's creations is other stuff I've made (like edits), #frankie.txt is me yammering on. For a window into my brain check #so me and #i think about this all the time

Interests most prevalent here:

history/material culture (I tag by decade and year when I can)

Les Miserables

Star Trek

the X Files

the sea and the sky

old hollywood-era movies and old time radio, especially stuff with Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, and Harold Lloyd

music, especially Talking Heads and Jonathan Richman

I speak English, but I am also learning Mandarin and would love to practice! 我的母语是英文，但是我也在学中文，所以我很想练习！

Feel free to send me asks!

I try to add alt text to my posts but if I forget make sure to let me know.

Currently reading: Correspondence of Horace Walpole, The Making of the English Working Class, The Other Side of the Sky, The Cheese and the Worms, The Flying Classroom, Maurice again

Currently watching: The X-Files (s5), Star Trek: Voyager (s6), Doctor Who (first doctor, s2), a lot of movies (on a Harold Lloyd glasses character binge at the moment)

[pilferingapples]

Thank you!

The other illustrations, and the "Universal Library" imprint, confirm my theory: this is a movie tie-in to the 1935 Les Mis film, starring Frederic March and Charles Laughton as Javert, and Cedric Hardwicke as Bishop Myriel!

Here, you can see the artist really has a good handle on the actors' appearance, look:

Hardwicke's Myriel and March's Valjean, in the movie:

and in illustration:

Here's a shot of Frederick March as Valjean in his Madeleine days with Charles Laughton's Javert:

and the two of them in the illustration; you can see Laughton's very distinctive profile!:

The scene with the woman and child that first caught your eye is based on this moment, from Valjean's trial, when he's sentenced and taken away; that's his sister and one of her kids, not Fantine and Cosette:

This is obviously a movie tie-in, but printing photos must still have been cost -prohibitive, so they hired this illustrator. I really like that! It's neat seeing the illustrator reinterpret the movie scenes to an effective single composition.

..as for the movie's interpretation of the book, well, this is what the movie turns the preface into:

"so long as there exists in this world that we call civilized, a system whereby men and women, even after they have paid the penalty of the law and expiated their offenses in full, are hounded and persecuted wherever they go--this story will not have been told in vain."- preface to Les Miserables , according to the 1935 movie

Yeah! That's not at all what Hugo said, even though the movie attributes it to him. But the actors do a great job and so did this illustrator! Thank you for sharing this cool little find!

What?

Behold, an image from an old edition of Les Misérables has an illustration that is IDENTICAL to Benedict cumberbatch!!

Or is it just me?

[psalm22-6]

So people even cried over the 1935 movie, hmm?

[piierogis]

Some fun highlights from Les Miserables (1935)

No wifi so it's time to watch the movies I have downloaded, which are mainly various adaptations of Les Mis. So some impressions from the 1935 one! Shortly: Cosette knows everything and wants to help her crime dad run from the police, Éponine and Valjean are friends now, Marius is all of the Amis in one and therefore much more competent, even Gavroche doesn't exist and Javert is emotional and likes to talk.

Exhibit A: bread

Javert on his first appearance looks like he's about to cry. That sure is a choice

Javert coming to M-sur-M interrupts Madeleine's conversation with the candlesticks so while they talk he's just clutching one of the candlesticks standing on the mantelpiece. Also he looks like he might attack Javert with it any moment

Fantine barges into Madeleine's office threatening to kill him. She got no attention prior to this, she still has her hair and all. Proceeds to almost hit Javert. Amazing

Javert: "Well, monsieur Madeleine seems to have no respect for the law, hehehe :D"

Valjean comes for Cosette before the trial. He sees her when he enters the inn, and leaves with her when she's sent to get water from... The well right in front of the door.

Oh I loved this baby Cosette immediately. She gets right into chatting with Valjean. Zero fear of weird strangers.

"How old are you?" "Eight. I think." "Don't you know? Don't you have birthdays?" "No. The others do!"

"Is that woman your mother?" "(revolted) Oh NO."

"And your father?" "My father's in heaven." Baby he's most definitely not and will not be

He brings Cosette to M-sur-M and she lives there with him and his housekeeper who is Toussaint, somehow, as they wait for Fantine to get better. Valjean beats tiny Cosette at checkers. That's a nice AU.

Javert stop disturbing their board game evening with your resignation

Valjean's "Who am I" moment being disturbed by Cosette's laughter

"Toussaint, order a carriage!" (a minute later) "Cancel the carriage! I'm not going!" (another minute later) "I'll go to Arras."

The trial made me sad :(

He came beck to tell Cosette that he's leaving and Cosette thinks that it's her fault and she's going back to the inn D:

A shot of Javert's boots, which reach the middle of his thigh. Got immediately reminded of Kinky Boots.

Fantine dies and nuns circle her immediately, they creep me out

Valjean: "Your very presence killed her." (yeets Javert through the door)

Wild carriage ride to Paris! Cosette on top of the carriage, screaming! An army of policemen on horses chasing them! Dramatic music! I'm pretty sure the same shots were used like 5 times! Also the carriage has "M. Madeleine" written on the side. So intense

Cut to some small room. Someone knocks to the door. Valjean jumps on the bed and covers himself with blankets. Tiny Cosette opens the door.

Cosette has 0 issues with Valjean being hunted by police. I'm pretty sure that she's ready to fight them

Valjean got into the convent because he handed in a recommendation letter from Madeleine

So many convent girls dressed in bridal clothes

How did the nuns never learn about what happened to Madeleine that I don't know

A now mustached Valjean and an older Cosette exit the convent and immediately see convicts, conveniently passing through there. Cosette is sad about how they're being treated :(

Valjean: "Has anyone told you that you're beautiful?" Cosette: "No! But I hope that it's true! Many have told me that I have a handsome escort, though!"

Ah yes, Les Amis are "not revolutionary" and "not into politics" and it looked like police attacked them for handing out leaflets. Also Marius being Enjolras

Valjean decided to give money to Marius for The Cause and Cosette went to deliver them personally to the cafe

Marius is not Pontmercying very much. Javert is stalking his secret dates with Cosette.

Both Valjean and Cosette noticed Javert stalking around their house. Cosette is still 100% supportive of her dad being on the run from the police. I love her.

Éponine is SO bitter

"We're moving to England" "... I love Marius"

VALJEAN SUDDENLY SEEMS AGGRESSIVE. WHY. WE WERE DOING SO WELL. Also please don't tell me that was a Valjean/Cosette undertone. A bad scene.

Cosette promised to go to England and forget Marius because of Valjean. Valjean promised to "make inquiries" about him from England. This scene is still weird

Éponine falls through the door! Valjean catches her! She brought a letter from Marius to Cosette! She is very hysterical about that and Valjean gave her brandy. They're buddies now

Her eyebrows scare me

Valjean hanging out with Éponine and plotting about Marius and Cosette. Love it. A nice pair of besties.

Javert is still randomly standing in the corners, now also shouting "Valjeeeean!"

Valjean and Cosette running around the city together looking for Marius!

Javert comes after them and just. A revolutionary looks at him. "Who are you? A spy?" "I might be a spy and I'm certainly the police!" THE REVOLUTION JUST STARTED LIKE 5 SECONDS AGO

Valjean takes him away before they even tie him up, why is everything happening so fast

Javert is hysterical and Valjean completly ignores him

Éponine and Marius were together, looking dead and Valjean checked Éponine's pulse before taking Marius :(

Javert's boots are now a bit shorter.

Also he went into the sewers after Valjean

Love the random human skull in the sewers

Valjean takes the wounded Marius straight to Cosette, without meeting Javert or anything?

Then his JAVERT SENSES start TINGLING

"Javert. Javert. You're here. I know it. Where are you? Where are you?" that's deeply disturbing

I don't know if he was going to be handcuffed, it just looked like they were holding hands

Marius is conscious by now, knows that Valjean had saved him. Tbh I love how this adaptation deletes 100% of people now knowing things

Valjean goes to say goodbye to Cosette, then goes outside and steps on handcuffs

He sees Javert walking into the Seine right across his house and runs to him and I'm sad again :(

That's where the movie ends so I have no reason to believe that he doesn't fish him out