Marcel Pagnol facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marcel Pagnol
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Pagnol in 1948
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| Born | Marcel Paul Pagnol 28 February 1895 Aubagne, Provence, Third French Republic |
| Died | 18 April 1974 (aged 79) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Author Playwright Film director |
| Nationality | French |
| Notable works | Marius Jean de Florette Manon des sources La Gloire de mon père Le Château de ma mère |
Marcel Paul Pagnol was a famous French writer, playwright, and filmmaker. He was born on February 28, 1895, and passed away on April 18, 1974. Pagnol was so talented that in 1946, he became the first filmmaker ever chosen for the Académie française. This is a very important group in France that protects the French language.
Even though his work might not be as popular today, many people still think Pagnol was one of France's greatest writers of the 1900s. He was amazing because he was good at almost every type of writing. He wrote memories, novels, plays, and made movies too!
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Marcel Pagnol's Early Life
Marcel Pagnol was born in a town called Aubagne in southern France, near Marseille. He was the oldest child of Joseph Pagnol, a schoolteacher, and Augustine Lansot, a seamstress. Marcel grew up in Marseille with his younger brothers, Paul and René, and his younger sister, Germaine.
School Days and Family Life
In July 1904, Marcel's family rented a house called the Bastide Neuve for their summer vacation. This house was in a quiet village in Provence called La Treille. They spent many summers there, enjoying the hilly countryside between Aubagne and Marseille.
Around this time, Marcel's mother, Augustine, started to get sick. Her health was never very strong. On June 16, 1910, she sadly died from a chest infection. She was only 36 years old. Marcel's father, Joseph, got married again in 1912.
In 1913, when Marcel was 18, he finished high school with a diploma in philosophy. He then started studying literature at the University in Aix-en-Provence. When World War I began, he joined the army. However, in January 1915, he was sent home because he wasn't strong enough for military service.
On March 2, 1916, he married Simone Colin in Marseille. In November of that year, he graduated from university with a degree in English. He became an English teacher and taught in different schools in Marseille.
Marcel Pagnol's Career
Moving to Paris
In 1922, Marcel Pagnol moved to Paris. He continued to teach English there until 1927. At that point, he decided to focus all his energy on writing plays. During his time in Paris, he was part of a group of young writers. He worked with one of them, Paul Nivoix, to write a play called Merchants of Glory, which was performed in 1924.
After that, in 1928, he wrote another play called Topaze. This play was a funny story about someone who was very ambitious. Even though he was living in Paris, Pagnol missed his home in Provence. So, he wrote a play called Marius, which was set in his home region. This play later became his first work to be made into a movie in 1931.
Marcel Pagnol separated from Simone Collin in 1926, though they didn't officially divorce until 1941. He then had a son named Jacques Pagnol with an English dancer named Kitty Murphy. Jacques was born on September 24, 1930. Jacques later helped his father with his films and became a cameraman himself.
Becoming a Filmmaker
In 1929, Marcel Pagnol visited London and saw one of the first movies with sound. He was so amazed that he decided he wanted to make films. He contacted Paramount Picture studios and suggested turning his play Marius into a movie. The film was directed by Alexander Korda and came out on October 10, 1931. It was one of the first successful French movies with sound.
In 1932, Pagnol started his own film studios near Marseille. For the next ten years, he made his own movies. He did many different jobs, like finding money for the films, directing, writing scripts, running the studio, and even translating scripts into other languages. He also hired the best French actors of that time.
On April 4, 1946, Pagnol was chosen to be a member of the Académie française. He officially took his place in March 1947. He was the first filmmaker to ever receive this special honor.
What Pagnol's Films Were About
Marcel Pagnol used his skills as a playwright in his films. He didn't use many fancy camera tricks. Instead, he focused on showing the meaning in each scene. He wanted his films to be like art that showed deeper ideas, not just a simple story.
Pagnol also chose his actors carefully. He often hired local people to be in his movies. This helped to show off their unique accents and culture. Like his plays, Pagnol's films had a lot of talking and a musical rhythm.
Many of Pagnol's films looked closely at how people lived and behaved in their communities. He used characters like proud fathers and rebellious children to show the everyday life of ordinary people in the countryside. Pagnol also often compared women to land, showing how both could be empty or full of life. Most importantly, Pagnol used all these ideas to show how important human connections are and how they can be renewed.
Writing Novels
In 1945, Pagnol married again to an actress named Jacqueline Bouvier, who became Jacqueline Pagnol. They had two children together, Frédéric (born 1946) and Estelle (born 1949). Sadly, Estelle died when she was only two years old. Pagnol was so heartbroken that he left the south of France and moved back to Paris.
He tried writing plays again, but his next play wasn't very popular. So, he decided to change his job once more. He started writing a series of books about his own childhood memories, called Souvenirs d'enfance.
In 1957, the first two books in this series, La Gloire de mon père (My Father's Glory) and Le château de ma mère (My Mother's Castle), were published and became very popular right away. The third book, Le Temps des secrets (The Time of Secrets), came out in 1959. The fourth book, Le Temps des Amours (The Time of Loves), was never finished and was published after he died in 1977.
Meanwhile, Pagnol started another series of novels called L'Eau des Collines (The Water of the Hills). These books, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, were about the clever plans and lives of farmers in Provence in the early 1900s. They were published in 1962. Pagnol even turned his own film Manon des Sources into these two novels.
Marcel Pagnol's Death
Marcel Pagnol passed away in Paris on April 18, 1974. He is buried in Marseille at the cemetery called La Treille. His mother, father, brothers, and wife are also buried there. His childhood friend, David Magnan, who was called Lili des Bellons in his autobiographies, died in a battle in July 1918 and is buried nearby.
Translations by Pagnol
Pagnol was also known for translating famous works into French. He translated plays by Shakespeare from English and poems by Virgil from Latin:
- 1944: Le Songe d'une nuit d'été (A Midsummer Night's Dream) by William Shakespeare.
- 1947: Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
- 1958: Bucoliques (The Eclogues) by Virgil.
Pagnol's translation of Hamlet is still performed in France today.
Film Adaptations of Pagnol's Works
Many of Marcel Pagnol's stories have been made into movies by other filmmakers:
- In 1986, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources were adapted by filmmaker Claude Berri.
- In 1990, La Gloire de mon père and Le château de ma mère, which were Pagnol's loving memories of his childhood, were filmed by Yves Robert.
- In 2000, Jacques Nahum produced Marius, Fanny, and César for French television.
- In 2011, La Fille du puisatier was filmed by Daniel Auteuil.
- In 2013, Marius and Fanny were remade by Daniel Auteuil.
Awards Marcel Pagnol Won
- 1939: Best foreign film for Harvest - New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- 1940: Best foreign film for The Baker's Wife - New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- 1950: Best foreign film for Jofroi - New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Tribute to Pagnol
On February 28, 2020, Google celebrated Marcel Pagnol's 125th birthday with a special Google Doodle on their homepage.
Filmography (Movies Pagnol Made)
- Marius (1931)
- Fanny (1932)
- Jofroi (1934)
- Angèle (1934)
- Merlusse (1935)
- Cigalon (1935)
- Topaze (1936)
- César (1936)
- Regain (1937)
- Le Schpountz (1938)
- La Femme du boulanger (1938)
- Monsieur Brotonneau (1939)
- La Fille du puisatier (1940)
- La Prière aux étoiles (1941, unfinished)
- Naïs (1945)
- The Pretty Miller Girl (1949)
- The Ways of Love (1950)
- The Prize (1950)
- Topaze (1951)
- Manon des Sources (1952)
- Letters from My Windmill (Les Lettres de mon moulin) (1954)
See also
- Lycée Français International Marcel Pagnol
