THE MARSEILLE TRILOGY
Alexander Korda 3 Films

 

MARIUS
1931 - 127 MINUTES - FRANCE - BLACK AND WHITE - IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY ALEXANDER KORDA

Marius and Fanny, two young shopkeepers on the harbor front of Marseille, always seemed destined to marry, but Marius cannot overcome his urge to break free and voyage on the open sea. His father, César, is oblivious to the crisis, as is Honoré Panisse, the aged widower who is also vying for Fanny’s hand—until Fanny, knowing Marius’s happiness lies in the balance, changes their lives forever.

 

FANNY
1932 - 127 MINUTES - FRANCE - IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FiLM BY MARC ALLEGRET

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Picking up moments after the end of Marius, this film follows Fanny’s grief after Marius’s departure—and her realization that she’s pregnant. Panisse continues courting her and embraces the baby’s impending arrival as a gift, so long as its paternity remains a secret. Fanny and Panisse wed, but after her baby’s birth, Marius returns unexpectedly and demands what he believes is still his.

 

CÉSAR
1936 - 142 MINUTES - FRANCE - IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY MARCEL PAGNOL

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Twenty years have passed: Fanny’s son, Césariot, is in a military academy, and Panisse is on his deathbed, where the local priest demands that he tell his son about his biological father. Panisse refuses and dies; Fanny then divulges the secret, sending Césariot on a search for his own identity and for Marius, whose life has been fraught with calamity and poverty. Now free to follow her love, Fanny seeks out Marius as well, and with César’s help resolves their star-crossed destinies.