Overview
Also known as Lilac, this early Anatole Litvak-directed talkie was based on a play by Tristan Bernard and Charles Henry Hirsch. The story bears traces of the Bertold Brecht-Weill piece The Threepenny Opera, with heroine Lilac (Marcelle Romeo) consorting with the criminal scum of Paris. Lilac falls in love with a handsome detective (Andre Luguet), but he doesn't let his emotions stand in the way of his duty, and in the end he reluctantly turns her over to the authorities. At $120,000, Coeur de Lilas was one of the most expensive movies to come out of France in 1931, but it more than made back its cost at the box-office.
Cast
- Marcelle Romee as Coeur de Lilas
- André Luguet as André Lucot
- Fréhel as La Douleur
- Jean Gabin as Martousse
- Lydie Villars as La Crevette
- Fordyce as Mme Darny
- Marcel Delaître as Mr Darny
- Georges Paulais as le juge d'instruction
- Paul Amiot as Merlu
- Fernandel as le garçon d'honneur