Marcel Paul Pagnol was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker.
20 Facts About Marcel Pagnol
2.
Marcel Pagnol was born on 28 February 1895 in Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhone department, in southern France near Marseille, the eldest son of schoolteacher Joseph Marcel Pagnol and seamstress Augustine Lansot.
3.
Marcel Pagnol grew up in Marseille with his younger brothers Paul and Rene, and younger sister Germaine.
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In 1913, at the age of 18, Marcel Pagnol passed his baccalaureate in philosophy and started studying literature at the University in Aix-en-Provence.
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Marcel Pagnol became an English teacher, teaching in various local colleges and at a lycee in Marseille.
6.
In 1929, on a visit to London, Marcel Pagnol attended a screening of one of the first talking films and he was so impressed that he decided to devote his efforts to cinema.
7.
Marcel Pagnol contacted Paramount Picture studios and suggested adapting his play Marius for cinema.
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In 1932 Marcel Pagnol founded his own film production studios in the countryside near Marseille.
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On 4 April 1946, Marcel Pagnol was elected to the Academie francaise, taking his seat in March 1947, the first filmmaker to receive this honour.
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Marcel Pagnol's editing style is somberly reserved, placing emphasis on the content of an image.
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Marcel Pagnol took great care in the type of actors he employed, hiring local actors to appear in his films to highlight their unique accents and culture.
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The themes of many of Marcel Pagnol's films revolve around the acute observation of social rituals.
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Notably, Marcel Pagnol frequently compares women and land, showing both can be barren or fertile.
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Above all, Marcel Pagnol uses all this to illustrate the importance of human bonds and their renewal.
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In 1945, Marcel Pagnol remarried, to Jacqueline Bouvier.
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Marcel Pagnol was so devastated that he fled the south and returned to live in Paris.
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Marcel Pagnol adapted his own film Manon des Sources, with his wife Jacqueline in the title role, into two novels, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, collectively titled L'Eau des Collines.
18.
Marcel Pagnol is buried in Marseille at the cemetery La Treille, along with his mother, father, brothers, and wife.
19.
Marcel Pagnol was known for his translations of Shakespeare and Virgil :.
20.
Marcel Pagnol's Hamlet is still performed in France, although some have criticized his portrayal of Hamlet as somewhat effeminate.