Also known as Lilac, this early Anatole Litvak-directed talkie was based on a play by Tristan Bernard and Charles Henry Hirsch. The story bears traces of the Bertold Brecht-Weill piece The Threepenny Opera, with heroine Lilac (Marcelle Romeo) consorting with the criminal scum of Paris. Lilac falls in love with a handsome detective (Andre Luguet), but he doesn't let his emotions stand in the way of his duty, and in the end he reluctantly turns her over to the authorities. At $120,000, Coeur de Lilas was one of the most expensive movies to come out of France in 1931, but it more than made back its cost at the box-office.
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Cast
23 people
Marcelle Romee
Coeur de Lilas
Also in
The Letter
The Night at the Hotel
André Luguet
André Lucot
Known for
Paris Blues
Anatole Litvak
Tristan Bernard
Marcelle Romée
Coeur de lilas
Fréhel
La Douleur
Known for
The Story of a Cheat
Dorothy Farnum
Jean Gabin
Martousse
Known for
Grand Illusion
The Sicilian Clan
Charles-Henry Hirsch
Lydie Villars
La Crevette
Also in
Mysteries of Paris
Fordyce
Mme Darny
Also in
The Eagle
Paris
Serge Veber
Anatole Litvak Director · Serge Veber Writer Dorothy Farnum Writer
Budget $120K · First release February 13, 1932 · Produced in France
Box office
Budget
$120,000
Production
Fifra
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Cœur de Lilas
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
French
Release dates
France · February 13, 1932
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Denmark
August 18, 1932
Finland
October 28, 1932
Italy
July 5, 2019 · Il Cinema Ritrovato
Portugal
January 31, 1935
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Some details come from TheTVDB.