Member of the French Academy, this talented author is very fond of Provence. His native region is very present in his novels, films and plays.
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In the footsteps Marcel Pagnol in Provence
Marcel Pagnol, a gifted author
Marcel Pagnol was born on February 28, 1895 in the town of Aubagne, under the Garlaban. Joseph, his father, was a teacher in a local school, and his mother, Augustine, worked as a seamstress. This gifted student obtained a scholarship to the Lycée Thiers and pursued literary studies in Aix-en-Provence.
The author first wrote plays, before trying his hand at film. Several of his plays and films were immediately successful. La Femme du Boulanger, Topaze, Marius, Fanny, César, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources attracted crowds and contributed to his fame. His stories often paint a funny, authentic, endearing and benevolent portrait of Provence. In parallel, he also wrote several books (novels, essays, short stories…).
In 1946, Marcel Pagnol joined the Académie française. In 1960, he was president of the Cannes Film Festival. From the mid-1950s, Marcel Pagnol stopped making films to write a series of autobiographical novels. His Souvenirs d’enfance (Childhood Memories) were a huge success, selling several million copies and being translated into many languages.
Marcel Pagnol died on April 18th 1974 in Paris. He now lies in the cemetery of La Treille, a village near the hills where he spent the most beautiful holidays of his life.
The Marseille Trilogy on the Old Port of Marseille
The Marseilles Trilogy consists of the plays and films Marius, Fanny and César, and tells the story of a thwarted love affair between a shellfish merchant and the son of a bar owner who dreams of adventure.
The films seduced the whole of France with a quality script, endearing characters and cult lines. The card game scene in the Navy bar is one of the most famous sequences in cinema.
You have not seen the films? We invite you to watch them as soon as possible! Do you already know the Trilogie marseillaise? You can go to 15 quai de Rive Neuve, on the Old Port. Push the doors of the Bar de la Marine. The interior scenes were not filmed in the establishment, but everything here is reminiscent of the special atmosphere of Marcel Pagnol’s films.
Memories of childhood in the hills of the Garlaban massif
The Garlaban massif is located to the east of Marseille and rises to 714 metres. The Garlaban hill is easily visible from Marseille. These hills were the playground of the young Marcel Pagnol. From La Bastide Neuve, a house rented by his parents, his uncle and his aunt, he discovered the pleasures of long walks in the valleys covered with scrubland. He became friends with Lili des Bellons, a young peasant.
Pagnol’s hills have a special place in the hearts of Provençal people, and are linked to the stories in the Souvenirs d’enfance books: La Gloire de Mon Père, le Château de ma Mère, Le Temps des secrets and Le Temps des Amours.
You can discover the playground of Petit Marcel with a hike in the Garlaban massif, from Allauch, La Treille, Aubagne or Roquevaire. Guided excursions are also organised. From la Treille, you can discover the Bastide Neuve, the holiday home of the Pagnol family.
You can also visit the Château de la Buzine, featured in the book Le Château de ma mère. Bought by Marcel Pagnol to become a film city with a film set, it was abandoned for several decades before being completely renovated. A place of culture and life, the Château de la Buzine is now home to the Maison des Cinématographies de la Méditerranée, with an interactive museum tour.
Many filming locations in Provence
Marcel Pagnol’s name is closely linked to the world of cinema. Some of his books have also been adapted for the cinema more recently, by other film directors.
Do you prefer the original films of Marcel Pagnol? In the Garlaban massif, you can walk through the ruins of the sets of the village of Regain, or the farm of Angèle. The medieval village of Le Castellet, in the Var, was used as a film location for the movie The Baker’s Wife, starring Raimu. The village of La Treille, so dear to the author, was also immortalised on film. The original version of Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources were filmed there, while the version directed by Claude Berri used the village of Mirabeau as a film location.
La Gloire de mon Père and Le Château de ma Mèrewere both directed by Yves Robert and released in 1990. Do you know these films? You can discover the filming locations. The perched village of Grambois, in the southern Luberon, has replaced the village of La Treille. Here you will find the village square, the Bartavelles fountain, the church square and the petanque court. La Bastide Neuve is a house located in Pichauris. The Château d’Astros, in Vidauban, replaces Le château de ma mère, which was too damaged to be used for filming.
