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.
Acting
Frehel's chanteuse performance steals every scene.
Production
Lavish sets that scream 1931 French studio money.
Director
Anatole Litvak
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Litvak's breakthrough before Hollywood came calling — you can see the studio polish forming.
The Brecht-Weill connection isn't accidental; both works explore how capitalism turns love into transaction.
FR
