Teacher Pets: Audry’s Lesbian Melodrama Reclaims the Spotlight in New Restoration
Returning to dispel the historical erasure of queer representation in cinema is Olivia, a restoration of Jacqueline Audry’s 1951 melodrama, adapted from the only novel by Dorothy Bussy, an English teacher and translator responsible for translating all of Andre Gide’s works into English thanks to their decades spanning friendship. Besides a reclamation of early lesbian representation, the restoration is a reminder of the importance of Audry, who worked steadily as a director from 1946 to 1967, often adapting notable novels (including works by Jean-Paul Sartre and Colette) and is perhaps best remembered for first tackling Gigi (1949), which Vincente Minnelli would later churn into an Academy Award winning musical in 1958.…...
Returning to dispel the historical erasure of queer representation in cinema is Olivia, a restoration of Jacqueline Audry’s 1951 melodrama, adapted from the only novel by Dorothy Bussy, an English teacher and translator responsible for translating all of Andre Gide’s works into English thanks to their decades spanning friendship. Besides a reclamation of early lesbian representation, the restoration is a reminder of the importance of Audry, who worked steadily as a director from 1946 to 1967, often adapting notable novels (including works by Jean-Paul Sartre and Colette) and is perhaps best remembered for first tackling Gigi (1949), which Vincente Minnelli would later churn into an Academy Award winning musical in 1958.…...
- 8/20/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine' 1938: Jean Renoir's film noir (photo: Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine') (See previous post: "'Cat People' 1942 Actress Simone Simon Remembered.") In the late 1930s, with her Hollywood career stalled while facing competition at 20th Century-Fox from another French import, Annabella (later Tyrone Power's wife), Simone Simon returned to France. Once there, she reestablished herself as an actress to be reckoned with in Jean Renoir's La Bête Humaine. An updated version of Émile Zola's 1890 novel, La Bête Humaine is enveloped in a dark, brooding atmosphere not uncommon in pre-World War II French films. Known for their "poetic realism," examples from that era include Renoir's own The Lower Depths (1936), Julien Duvivier's La Belle Équipe (1936) and Pépé le Moko (1937), and particularly Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938) and Daybreak (1939).[11] This thematic and...
- 2/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.