Marcel Pagnol-Author And Filmmaker

Marcel Pagnol was born in Aubagne near Marseille, in the south of France in February 28,1895.

His father, Joseph Pagnol was a school teacher (he taught at the "Chemin des Chartreux" the largest Elementary School in Marseille). His mother Augustine Lansot was a seamstress.

Marcel was the second child of five children, His brother Maurice born in April 1994 died at 16 months on August 1995. his brother Paul was born in 1998, his sister Germaine 1902 and the last of the family Rene was born in 1909.

There is no mention of Marcel's eldest brother, Maurice who was conceived before his parents marriage. Rene was born just one year before his mother's death.

Marcel Pagnol had a deep love for his parents which he says it best in his autobiography My Father's Glory "They were my father and mother for all eternity, forever".

It is not clear how Marcel learned how to read, but it probably happened during his long hours sitting in the last row of his father's class room when no one was available to babysit him and his mother would drop him off to do some errands. He was only around 4 years old when his father realized that Marcel could read fluently. His father was amazed and delighted, but his mother got so frighten at the news that she prevented him to open a book until he was 6, thinking that his brain would blow up. Marcel would sneak in the kitchen at night and read his mother's recipe books.

Marcel spent his childhood in and idle family environment with his parents, aunt and uncle between Marseille (during the school year) and the the Colines of "La Treille", hills around Marseille where he spend every summer with his whole family. These wonderful days of happy childhood, what he calls the most beautiful days of his life, is one of the main focus of Marcel Pagnol's biography, My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle which also became acclaimed movies in 1990 and 1991.

Marcel Pagnol became his career as a a teacher like his father. He taught in various secondary schools in Pamiers, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille and later for a brief period at the famous Lycee Condorcet in Paris, before he quit teaching to devote his life to writing plays, and novels before making movies.

He wrote his first play "Merchants Of Glory" in 1924 and shoot his first movie in 1931. He married his first wife Simone Collin in 1916 at age 21 and had two sons and a daughter. After his divorce he remarry in 1945 at age 50 with Jacqueline Bouvier and had two sons and a daughter from his second marriage as well. Between his two marriage he had a son with English dancer Kitty Murphy.

Marcel Pagnol was the first filmmaker to be elected by the French Academy. He became a member of the French Academy in 1946.

Marcel Pagnol died on April 18, 1974 at the age of 79.

After writing his first 3 plays, Merchants of Glory in 1924, Topaze in 1928 and Marius in 1929 in Paris, he returned in his childhood Marseille to make his first movie, Marius from his play.

Marius would be the first movie of Pagnol famous trilogy, Marius, Fanny and Cesar. The story of the relationship between a widower and his young adult son who has to decide between his love for the sea and his love for a young woman who he grew up with in Marseille of the early 1930's where everybody new each other. Marius became one of the first successful talking movies in the French language.

In 1932 Pagnol founded his own film production studios near Marseille. He was the script writer, producer and director of most of his moves which featured the greatest French actors of that time.

Between 1957 and 1959 he wrote the first part of his memoirs La Gloire de Mon Pere (My Father's Glory which received an instant success, followed by Le Chateau de ma Mere (My Mother's Castle) and Le Temps des Secrets (Days Of Secrets) and Le Temps des Amours (Days of Love). In 1964 he wrote his novel L'Eau des Collines (The Water from the Hills)which comprised Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources.( Manon of the Springs). All would become blockbuster movies in between late 1980's to early 1990's.

Marius (1931)

Fanny (1932)

Jofroi (1933)

Le Gendre de Monsieur Poirier (1933)

L'Article 330 (1934)

Angèle (1934)

Merlusse (1935)

Cigalon (1935)

Topaze (1936)

César (1936)

Regain (1937)

Le Schpountz (1938)

La Femme du boulanger (1938)

La Fille du puisatier (1940)

La Belle meunière (1948)

Topaze (1951)

Manon des sources (1953)

Les Lettres de mon moulin (1954)