The Chess Player (1938 film)

The Chess Player
Directed by	Jean Dréville
Written by	André Doderet Jean Dréville Albert Guyot Roger Vitrac Bernard Zimmer
Based on	Le Jour d'échecs by Henry Dupuy-Mazuel
Produced by	Antoine de Rouvre Jacques Schwob-d'Héricourt
Starring	Françoise Rosay Conrad Veidt Bernard Lancret
Cinematography	René Gaveau André Thomas
Edited by	Raymond Leboursier
Music by	Jean Lenoir
Production company	Société des Films Vega
Distributed by	Compagnie Française Cinématographique (France) Columbia Pictures (United States)
Release dates	November 25, 1938 (1938-11-25) (France) December 3, 1939 (1939-12-03) (United States)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

The Chess Player (French: Le joueur d'échecs) is a 1938 French historical drama film directed by Jean Dréville and starring Françoise Rosay, Conrad Veidt and Bernard Lancret. It is a remake of the 1927 silent film The Chess Player, itself based on the 1926 novel of the same title by Henry Dupuy-Mazuel. The film takes place in Vilnius during the reign of Catherine the Great.

It was shot at the Cité Elgé studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Lucien Aguettand and Marcel Magniez. It was released by Compagnie Française Cinématographique in France and Columbia Pictures in the United States

Cast

• Françoise Rosay as Catherine II
• Conrad Veidt as Le baron de Kempelen
• Bernard Lancret as Le prince Serge Oblonsky
• Micheline Francey as Sonia Vorowska
• Paul Cambo as Le prince Boleslas Vorowsky
• Jacques Grétillat as Potemkine
• Jean Témerson as Stanislas, le roi de Pologne
• Edmonde Guy as Wanda Zalewska, la danseuse
• Gaston Modot as Major Nicolaieff

Bibliography

• Crisp, Colin. Genre, Myth and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939. Indiana University Press, 2002.

External links

• The Chess Player at IMDb