Nana (1926 film)

Nana
Directed by	Jean Renoir
Written by	Pierre Lestringuez Jean Renoir Émile Zola (novel)
Produced by	Pierre Braunberger
Starring	Catherine Hessling Werner Krauss Jean Angelo
Cinematography	Jean Bachelet Edmund Corwin
Edited by	Jean Renoir
Music by	Maurice Jaubert
Production company	Les Films Jean Renoir
Distributed by	Les Établissements Braunberger-Richebé
Release date	25 June 1926 (1926-06-25)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Nana is a 1926 French silent drama film directed by Jean Renoir and starring Catherine Hessling, Werner Krauss and Jean Angelo. It was Renoir's second full-length film and is based on the 1880 novel by Émile Zola.

It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich and the Neuilly Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Claude Autant-Lara.

Plot

Nana (1926)

A government official, Count Muffat, falls under the spell of Nana, a young actress. She becomes his mistress, living in the sumptuous apartment which he provides for her. Instead of elevating herself to Muffat's level, however, Nana drags the poor man down to hers - in the end, both lives have been utterly destroyed.

Cast

• Catherine Hessling as Nana
• Werner Krauss as Count Muffat
• Jean Angelo as Count de Vandeuvres
• Raymond Guérin-Catelain as Georges Hugon
• Pierre Lestringuez as Bordenave
• Jacqueline Forzane as La Comtesse Sabine Muffat
• Claude Autant-Lara as Fauchery
• Pierre Champagne as Hector de la Faloise
• Karl Harbacher as Francis - le coiffeur
• Valeska Gert as Zoe - la femme de chambre
• Jacqueline Ford as Rose Mignon
• Dennis Price as Le jockey de 'Nana'
• Gresham as Le jockey de 'Lusignan'
• Luc Dartagnan as Maréchal - le bookmaker
• Nita Romani as Satin
• Roberto Pla as Bosc
• Gorieux as Le médecin

Production

The film stars Renoir's wife, Catherine Hessling, in an eccentric performance as the flawed heroine Nana.

Jean Renoir's film is a somewhat truncated adaptation of Émile Zola's classic novel. The film's extravagances include two magnificent set pieces – a horse race and an open air ball. The film never made a profit, and the commercial failure of the film robbed Renoir of the opportunity to make such an ambitious film again for several years.

References

• Nana at filmsdefrance

External links

• Nana at IMDb
• Nana at Internet Archive
• Entry at Allmovie