Directed by:
Marcel L'HerbierPlots(1)
Pirandello's novels and plays were all the rage among the avant garde thinkers of his day: of them, perhaps the best known today is Six Characters In Search Of An Author. In 1934, Pirandello won the Nobel prize for literature. This film stars the legendary (and legendarily difficult) Ivan Mosjoukine as Mathias Pascal. In the story, Pascal is a timid man, and has lived a very constricted life in the midst of a claustrophia-inducing family. When, as a result of his being in an accident, his family believes that he has died, Pascal decides to let them continue to believe it. He has just won some money at roulette, and he can manage quite nicely on that. At first he is overjoyed by his newfound freedom. However, he soon discovers a serious drawback in being an identityless person when he falls in love with the daughter of his landlord in Rome, but has no documents which will permit him to marry her. This film, in addition to being considered a classic, also marks the first onscreen appearance of the extraordinary Swiss actor Michel Simon, as Pascal's best friend Jerome. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Ivan Mozzhukhin
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Father Sergius (1917)
Satan Triumphant (1917)
The Queen of Spades (1916)
Lois Moran
USA
Best movies:
Alice in the Cities (1974)
The Road to Mandalay (1926)
Marthe Mellot
France
Best movies:
Les Misérables (1934) (series)
Monsieur Vincent (1947)
Antoine et Antoinette (1947)
Pauline Carton
France
Best movies:
The Longest Day (1962)
I Did It Three Times (1952)
Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954)
Michel Simon
Switzerland
Best movies:
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958)
Beauty of the Devil (1950)
Pierre Batcheff
China
Best movies:
Napoleon (1927)
Two Timid Souls (1928)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1929)
Jaque Catelain
France
Best movies:
Eldorado (1921)
The Razor's Edge (1946)
The Inhuman Woman (1924)
Jane Pierson
Best movies:
Man About Town (1947)
Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)
Beauties of the Night (1952)
Solange Sicard
France
Best movies:
Georges Térof
Best movies:
The Wheel (1923)
Whirlpool of Fate (1925)
Night at the Crossroads (1932)
Philippe Hériat
France
Best movies:
Napoleon (1927)
Eldorado (1921)
The Inhuman Woman (1924)