Scenes and images from the French Communist Party's (PCF) 1937 Congress in Arles. La Grande Espérance highlights some of the PCF's new concerns under the Popular Front: a warning against international fascism, a desire for organic unity, and the defense of national heritage and regional cultures. It also reveals the first signs of a cult of personality surrounding Maurice Thorez. La Grande Espérance was screened (and possibly re-edited) after the Liberation. A commentary was then added to the credits emphasizing the continuity of the Communist Party’s political line and the sacrifice of its activists during the war. Today, only this post-1945 version exists.
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Cast
12 people
Maurice Thorez
Himself
Marcel Cachin
Himself
Jacques Duclos
Himself
Also in
Munich, or Peace in Our Time
Life Is Ours
Danièle Casanova
Herself
Benoît Frachon
Himself
Georges Politzer
Himself
Marie Politzer
Herself
Joseph Ramier
Himself
Martha Desrumeaux
Herself
Pierre Semard
Himself
Julien Racamond
Himself
Jean-Richard Bloch
Himself
Jacques Becker Director
First release December 31, 1937 · Produced in France · Production Ciné France
Production
Les films populaires
Production
Ciné France
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
La Grande Espérance
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
French
Release dates
France · December 31, 1937
Limited theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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