Liliom (1934)

Directed by

Fritz Lang

Genre

drama film, comedy film, fantasy film

Country

France

Runtime

1h 58m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.5 of 10 from 27 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A carousel barker named Liliom gets fired after defending a chambermaid named Julie. They start a relationship but after Liliom learns she is pregnant, he joins a robbery that goes wrong and dies by suicide. His soul goes to a heavenly waiting room where he is told he must return to Earth to do one good deed.

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What happens

Liliom is a 1934 French fantasy film directed by Fritz Lang based on the 1909 Hungarian stage play of the same title by Ferenc Molnár. The film stars Charles Boyer as Liliom, a carousel barker who is fired from his job after defending the chambermaid Julie (Madeleine Ozeray) from the jealousy of Mme. Muscat, the carousel owner who is infatuated with Liliom. He moves in with Julie and they begin an affair. When Liliom discovers he's about to become a father, he finds he needs money and participates in a robbery which goes awry. Rather than allow himself to be arrested, Liliom kills himself and his soul is transported to a waiting room of Heaven. A heavenly commissioner determines that Liliom will not be admitted into Heaven, only Purgatory, until he returns to Earth to do one good deed. Liliom was one of the two first French productions by producer Erich Pommer for Fox-Europa and director Fritz Lang's only French film. On the film's release it was protested by the French Catholic clergy and was generally not well received by French film critics or playwright Ferenc Molnár. Despite the reception, the 1934 Liliom was one of Lang's favorites out of all his films. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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