Bifur 3

1945 film
  • 29 August 1945 (1945-08-29)
Running time
102 minutesCountryFranceLanguageFrench

Bifur 3 is a 1945 French drama film directed by Maurice Cam and starring René Dary, Raymond Aimos and Martine Carol.[1] Shooting first began on the film in 1939, but delays due to the Second World War and the Occupation of France meant it wasn't completed until after the Liberation.[2] Many of the original cast and crew were replaced. It was shot at the Photosonor Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Dumesnil.

Bifur 3 was Martine Carol's acting debut.[3][4]

Synopsis

Two truck drivers pick up a woman as passenger on the road to Marseille, but are pursued by her husband.[5]

Cast

  • René Dary as Georges
  • Raymond Aimos as Gustave
  • Martine Carol as Germaine
  • Arthur Devère as Napoléon
  • Robert Le Vigan as Paul
  • Julien Maffre as a truck driver
  • Jean Berton as Alvarez's butler
  • Fernand Sardou as a truck driver
  • Maurice Escande as Alvarez
  • Ariane Borg as Gisèle
  • Paul Azaïs as André

Production

Shooting began in 1939,[6] was interrupted in 1941;[7] filming resumed in Paris in May 1944[8] and some scenes were shot on location in Marseille in August 1944.[9]

The film's production was troubled for various reasons. On August 20, 1944, the actor Raymond Aimos,[10] who had one of the main roles in the film, was killed during the Liberation of Paris.[11] There was to film a few scenes that he should have appeared. The scenario was then slightly modified; the last scenes were shot in October and November 1944.

Martine Carol herself was a last minute substitute for an unknown actress who eventually declined the role; and Robert Le Vigan had fled to South America before filming was completed.[12][13]

Release

The film was released in France on August 29, 1945, almost exactly a year after Aimos' death.[14] The total number of admissions in France was 1,274,116.[15]

Reception

Le Nouveau Guide des films states that "Bifur 3 is not without its charms and gives an interesting account of the world of truckers."[16]

References

  1. ^ Bertin-Maghit 1980, p. 43.
  2. ^ Rège p.166
  3. ^ La Revue du cinéma, image et son (in French). Ligue française de l'enseignement et de l'éducation permanente. 1972.
  4. ^ Cahiers du cinéma (in French). Editions de l'Etoile. 1967.
  5. ^ "Bifur 3 de Maurice Cam (1945) - Unifrance". www.unifrance.org. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  6. ^ Rège, Philippe (2009-12-11). Encyclopedia of French Film Directors (in French). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6939-4.
  7. ^ Mucchielli, Hercule (2007). Le cinéma d'Hercule Mucchielli: de 1923 à 1975 (in French). A. Piazzola. ISBN 978-2-915410-50-1.
  8. ^ Chardère, Bernard (2001). Le cinéma de Jacques Prévert (in French). Castor astral. ISBN 978-2-85920-390-0.
  9. ^ "Figaro : journal non politique". gallica.bnf.fr. 1939-08-12. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  10. ^ "Libération de Paris, Raymond Caudrilliers (1891-1944), dit Aimos, acteur de cinéma, la veille de sa mort, rue de Rivoli, 1er et 4ème arrondissements, le 19 août 1944. | Paris Musées". www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  11. ^ "Aimos - Cinémathèque française". cinema.encyclopedie.personnalites.bifi.fr. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  12. ^ Boterf, Hervé Le (1986-01-01). Robert Le Vigan, le mal-aimé du cinéma: Suivi des confessions du comédien (in French). FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 978-2-307-21751-0.
  13. ^ Lesueur, Daniel (2018-11-30). "Martine Carol (1920-1967)". Culturesco (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  14. ^ "BnF Catalogue général". catalogue.bnf.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  15. ^ "Bifur 3 (1945) - JP Box-Office". jpbox-office.com. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  16. ^ Tulard, Jean (2013-07-18). Le Nouveau guide des films - Intégrale (in French). Groupe Robert Laffont. ISBN 978-2-221-12486-4.

Bibliography

  • Bertin-Maghit, Jean Pierre (1980). Le cinéma français sous Vichy: les films français de 1940 à 1944 [French cinema under Vichy: French films from 1940 to 1944]. Collection Ça/cinéma, 21 (in French). Paris: Revue du Cinéma : Albatros. OCLC 6689342.
  • Rège, Philippe. Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

Further reading

  • Bessy, Maurice; Chirat, Raymond (1986). Histoire du cinéma français: encyclopédie des films, 1940–1950 [History of French cinema: encyclopedia of films, 1940–1950] (in French). Paris: Pygmalion. ISBN 9782857042211. OCLC 23603304.
  • Bifur 3 at IMDb