THE MOVING PICTURE BOY ARCHIVE

POIL DE CAROTTE

Title: Poil de Carotte
English title: Carrot-top
Year of release: 1932
Director: Julien Duvivier
Principal boy actor: Robert Lynen as François Lepic, nicknamed Poil de Carotte on account of his red hair
Country of Production: France
Genre: Drama
Length: 1 hr 31 min
Language: French
Availability: Available on the Julien Duvivier in the Thirties collection ('Eclipse from the Criterion Collection', Eclipse series 44), with English subtitles

Synopsis
François (nicknamed Carrot-top for his red hair) is a lonely young boy, unloved by his neglectful family. His older siblings show no interest in him, and his father is too busy with his affairs and with politics to pay him much attention. Only his mother notices him, but she dislikes him, keeps him busy with chores, and constantly scolds him. Eventually, a suicide attempt leads to his father (played by famous French screen actor Harry Baur) finally realising how much he loves his son, and he promises François that from henceforth he will stand up for him against the boy's cruel mother.

Source material
Based on Jules Renard's 1894 novel of the same name. This was director Julien Duvivier's second adaptation of the novel; the first was in 1925, as a silent, with André Heuzé as Poil de carotte.

Below, left: title page of the 1947 Terres Latines edition of novel with illustrations by Francisque Poulbot. Below, right: illustration for book by Paulette Humbert. Bottom, left: film tie-in edition of novel issued by Flammarion, with Robert Lynen as Poil de Carotte on front cover. Bottom, right: front cover of 1975 English language translation by Ralph Manheim for Hillstone paperbacks, entitled Carrot Top and with the original illustrations of Felix Vallotton (this was the second English translation of this novel; the first, by G. W. Stonier, was for the 1946 Grey Walls Press edition, entitled Carrots, and had illustrations by Fred Uhlman).

   

Below: reproduction of Japanese film poster by famous Japanese poster artist Hisamitsu Noguchi

Screenshots