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Le Tunnel
1933 Drama
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Credits
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Director: Curtis Bernhardt
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Script: Bernhard Kellermann, Curtis Bernhardt, Reinhart Steinbicker, Alexandre Arnoux
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Photo: Carl Hoffmann
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Music: Walter Gronostay
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Cast: Jean Gabin (Mac Allan),
Madeleine Renaud (Mary),
Robert Le Vigan (Brooce),
Edmond Van Daële (Le contremaître),
André Nox (Lloyd),
Pierre Nay (Hobby),
Gustaf Gründgens (Woolf),
André Bertic (Gordon),
Philippe Richard (Harryman),
Raymonde Allain (Ethel Lloyd),
Victor Vina (L'orateur),
Henri Valbel (Un ouvrier)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 72 min; B&W
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Aka: The Tunnel; Der Tunnel
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Summary
The crowning glory of Mac Allan’s engineering career will be the construction of
a tunnel beneath the Atlantic Ocean to connect America with Europe. But first he
must find financial backing for the project. After some fierce negotiations, the project
is given the go-ahead and work can begin. Unfortunately for Mac Allan this bold
feat of human endeavour will involve a greater sacrifice than he had imagined…
Review
Anticipating problems in his native
Germany when the Nazis came to power, director Kurt Bernhardt opted to make this adaptation
of Bernhard Kellermann’s novel in a Parisian film studio. Two rising stars
Jean Gabin and Madeleine Renaud were cast in the leading roles, which, as it turned out,
was an inspired choice.
Although very early in his career, Gabin’s talent as an actor, in particular
his ability to play tough dramatic roles convincingly, is apparent throughout this film.
His presence dominates the film, his portrayal very much that of the popular working
class hero for which he would become best known during the 1930s. Madeleine
Renaud is the perfect foil for Gabin, her character’s tragic vulnerability and
flighty optimism exposing the softer side of Gabin’s, making the latter more sympathetic
and believable.
The film itself is an uncomfortable mix of German expressionism
and silent film melodrama. Whilst the plotting leaves a lot to be desired, the
scenes of the tunnel being constructed are impressive, capturing both the scale of such
an enterprise and the terrible human cost involved. The same footage was
later re-used in Maurice Elvey’s 1935 English language remake of the film, The
Tunnel.
Bernhardt was compelled to direct a version of the film in Germany,
Der Tunnel (1933). He was subsequently arrested by the Gestapo but managed
to flee his country and continue his filmmaking career in Hollywood. There, under
the name Curtis Bernhardt, he directed several classic melodramas, including Possessed
(1947), The Merry Widow (1952) and The Blue Veil (1951).
© James Travers 2004
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