Fanny

Film appreciation by Robert Siegel of The Digital Bits

Radiating the Gallic charm and joie de vivre of the classic Marcel Pagnol trilogy, Image Entertainment has released the classic Fanny on DVD for the first time in a rather beautifully-restored edition. Among my favorites, the movie was directed by Joshua Logan and climaxed Logan's long love affair with the story. In 1953, eight years before the film was produced and released, Logan presented the three popular Pagnol pieces Fanny, Marius and Cesar (the Marseilles Trilogy) as a hit Broadway musical with Florence Henderson as Fanny, which opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theater on November 4, 1954 and played through December 1956 (a total of 888 performances, a very respectable run for a Broadway musical). It would win a Tony for best actor in a musical, but was also nominated for best musical. Joshua Logan, who directed this film version, was co-writer of the book for the Broadway musical and would direct the musical as well. The original stories were performed on stage since 1928 (sans the music) and averaged 10,000 performances per year around the world through the 1960s. It remains a favorite for theater companies all over the world.

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When purchased by Warner Brothers, a decision was made to produce the picture as a romantic comedy without the musical numbers. Fanny takes place in a shipping village in France. Marius (Horst Buchholz), the young son of the barkeeper Cesar (Charles Boyer) yearns for the sea. Arriving on the scene is Fanny (Leslie Caron). Despite Marius love for Fanny, she shows indifference and begins a flirtation with Panisse (Maurice Chevalier). The plot had a key element that was considered rather heavy for audiences of its day, so it could be said that Fanny was a bit of a dare for its producers and Warner Brothers for its time. But since I rarely reveal much plot in this column, I will leave it up to you, in your viewing of the film, to see what it is. I try to keep plot points to a minimum in my columns, as was done before most releases. Although a complete synopsis is available on many web sites, I personally prefer to go into a movie I have never viewed with as little plot information as possible except for the basics. In my columns here at The Digital Bits, I will continue to respect others who feel the same.

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Broadway musical poster and photos from the show.

Off the heels of the Broadway production (which was a musical), director Joshua Logan began production on location in Cassis. Nestled neatly in a small curve in the Mediterranean coastline, Cassis claims to be the gateway to the famed Cote d'Azur. It had, at the time, a half-dozen hotels and about twelve restaurants. For the Technicolor production, the 3,000 residents of the fishing village played host to 150 members of Logan's cast and crew. After a friendly greeting by the mayor, the Fanny invaders immediately started altering the face of the fishing port. They broadened the quay, redecorated the facades of the bars and restaurants, and replaced the new neon street lights with old-fashioned electric lamps from the 20s. Fishermen, returning with their lobster pots full and their boats awash with sardines, were more than amazed to discover Leslie Caron sipping an aperitif at the water's edge. They were even more astonished to find young Horst Buchholz plowing through the cobblestone streets. By the time Maurice Chevalier arrived with Charles Boyer, the fisherman, mayor and residents were fascinated with the scheme of production. Besides providing Logan and his experts with the striking background for Fanny, Cassis gave the visitors a taste of Provencal character. Dominating the town is Cap Canaille, at the time said to be France's highest cliff as a backdrop. The agreement was that the production crew could only stay for one month and, by the end of that time, had to not only leave but return the town to the exact same condition it was before filming began.

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The French became sensitive to the way that the American film company might handle the story property. The French had always considered the romantic Marcel Pagnol trilogy as much their own as the Eiffel Tower. In an effort to soothe any ruffled feelings over the Americanization of Fanny, Logan hired the cream of French acting society to star in the picture. As an additional precaution, Logan got the public and official blessing of Pagnol himself. He was the member of the esteemed French Academy. All of these safeguards helped, but they didn't squash completely the concern of many diehard purists, who continuously muttered about the manner in which the Americans might be treating their national literary classic. Logan himself maintains that he couldn't have made Fanny more French or more faithful to the original spirit of the piece if he had filmed in the French language in the Bastille. He was quoted as saying, "It's the real French Fanny filmed for an international audience and I am sure that the French will agree."

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In keeping with the character of the young Fanny, daughter of a waterfront fishmonger, and the period of the story, the costumes and locations had to be simple and in the style of 1925. In roaming the old section of Marseilles, costume designer Anne-Marie Marchand (a Parisian designer) found a warehouse stuffed with inexpensive cotton dresses that had just arrived from America and were en route to Africa. She found and purchased several for Leslie Caron. In these cases, the dresses had to be made over, changing the 1960 lines to the loosely fitted styles of 1925. Fanny's wedding dress for the glamorous wedding scene presented problems for Marchand. The original gown she designed turned out to be too ornate for Fanny, which was discovered after it was sewn and fitted and sent to location. So the designer bought some white curtain material and put together a wedding gown (after research into 1925 dress of the area). As Fanny's fortunes improve with the development of the story, her wardrobe becomes somewhat more elaborate, and Miss Marchand was able to change and improve the style and fabrics for a more elegant look that Fanny herself was trying to achieve. Although Fanny was Marchand's first American film, she had previously styled many French films as well as costuming the famed Casino De Paris.

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Leslie Caron was scheduled to speak to the townspeople before filming began. She said, "French actresses have a great deal of talent for playing women in love. The English have less, and American women none at all. We are able to let ourselves go. To love, for me, is a thing serious and natural. I believe in being attracted and don't believe in love at first sight. I don't rush in except with a thousand good reasons. What can one say to the person one has betrayed except the truth? When love has passed, you should break off at once and go far away. One of the things that attracted me to this role was the honesty of the character. She is innocent but childish at first, learning along the way what love really means - that's the wonder and heart of this story. It is interesting how old-fashioned a filming location can be. When I arrived here and bought an economy size of any given item, I was called Madame. When I shifted to more expensive items, they called me Ma Belle, and when I bought anything in the luxury class, they called me Madame La Americaine."

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Left: Leslie Caron and producer Joshua Logan at a press conference.
Right: Fanny fashions promotion.

Although the film is a straight romantic drama, Academy Award-winning composer/conductor Morrie Stoloff based his background score on Harold Rome's score for the Broadway production. The cast was said to very much enjoy the locale, and several said they had such a wonderful time on location that it was their best film experience so far. Changes had to be made to the actors for purposes of reality of the period. So intent was director Logan on creating a character true to the period that was envisioned in the books, that he padded Chavalier's midriff to stout proportions and added a gray mustache to camouflage the famed singing lips. Leslie Caron's make-up was expertly applied after many hours of research into the look of women of the period. Other problems presented themselves. Although the sea is Leslie Caron's chief rival for Horst Buchholz' affections, Horst actually did not like the sea at all. In fact, he informed director Logan while the company was filming on location there that he would not even ride the ferryboat in the harbor. Slowly, Logan began to comfort him and make him comfortable with the waters.

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