Les Misérables (1948 film)
Encyclopedia
Les Misérables is a 1948 Italian drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 directed by Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda was an Egyptian-born Italian film director. Best known for his horror and thriller movies, Freda had no great love for the horror films he was assigned, but rather favored the epic sword and sandal pictures...

. It is based on the Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

 novel of the same name
Les Misérables
Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...

.

Cast

  • Gino Cervi
    Gino Cervi
    Gino Cervi was an Italian actor of international fame.Cervi was born in Bologna. His father was the theatre critic Antonio Cervi.In 1928, he married Nini Gordini and they had a son, Tonino Cervi...

     – Jean Valjean
  • Valentina Cortese – Fantina / Cosetta
  • Hans Hinrich – Javert (as Giovanni Hinrich)
  • Luigi Pavese
    Luigi Pavese
    Luigi Pavese was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 173 films between 1916 and 1970.He was born in Asti, Italy and died in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* La Damigella di Bard...

     – Thenardier
  • Jone Romano – La Thenardier
  • Gino Cavalieri
    Gino Cavalieri
    Gino Cavalieri was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 23 films between 1937 and 1983.-Selected filmography:* The Priest's Wife * Arrivano i nostri * Toto the Third Man...

     – L'archivista della polizia
  • Massimo Pianforini – Il vescovo Myriel
  • Duccia Giraldi – Cosetta da bambina
  • Nino Marchetti
    Nino Marchetti
    Nino Marchetti was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1934 and 1973. He was married to the actress Celeste Almieri.-Selected filmography:* Latin Lovers...

  • Alba Settacioli (as Alba Setaccioli)
  • Andreina Pagnani – Suor Simplicia
  • Aldo Nicodemi – Marius
  • Joop van Hulzen – Il barone Gillenormand
  • Delia Orman – Eponine
  • Ugo Sasso – Enjolras
  • Rinaldo Smordoni – Gavroche (uncredited)
  • Luigi Garrone (as Luigi A. Garrone)
  • Dino Maronetto
  • Franco Balducci
    Franco Balducci
    Franco Balducci is an Italian film actor. He appeared in 75 films between 1947 and 1978. He was born in Umbria, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Les Misérables * Two Women * La bellezza di Ippolita...

  • Marcello Mastroianni
    Marcello Mastroianni
    Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...

     – Un rivoluzionario
  • Giuseppe Pierozzi
  • Ada – Duccia (uncredited)
  • Gabriele Ferzetti
    Gabriele Ferzetti
    Gabriele Ferzetti is an Italian actor. He has more than 160 credits to his name across film, television and stage. His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s....

     – Tholomyes, un cliente di Fantina (uncredited)
  • Luisa Leonardi – La sorvegliante della fabbrica (uncredited)

Differences to the novel

The film greatly differs from the novel:
(Note: This list takes only the largest differences into account; in smaller details there are even more.)
  • The baker from whom Valjean steals the bread shoots him.
  • Neither Valjean's sister nor her children (for whom he originally stole) are mentioned.
  • Valjean is number 872 in prison (in the book it's 24601 and 9430) and he is released after 18 years.
  • Javert is introduced in the prison, watching closely over Valjean. In the book he is not introduced before Montreuil-sur-Mer
  • Valjean only confesses his identity after getting advice from Fantine's nurse.
  • The confession is sent directly to Javert via letter.
  • The factory of Madeleine is an iron foundry - but the industrial revolution had not progressed that far.
  • A random worker starts a fire that leads to several people's death to allow Valjean to escape.
  • Valjean rescues Cosette on a Christmas Eve - yet all the trees still have leaves.
  • The scenes in the convent are left out.
  • Marius meets Cosette after hiding in Valjean's house and trying to force Valjean at gunpoint to send the police away - which Valjean does anyway.
  • Valjean runs into Thénardier when he goes to Gorbeau street to warn Marius to stay away from Cosette.
  • It is only after Cosette begs that Valjean goes to the barricade to save Marius.
  • Javert never goes to the barricade and Valjean never saves his life.
  • Marius is the son of Baron Gillenormand, the prefect of police, and has changed his name to Pontmercy. As such he is immune and cannot be prosecuted after the riot.
  • One gets the feeling that the real reason for Javert's suicide is the fact that the Prefect of Police (the highest authority in the police) will not press charges because the offender is his son. In addition, he says that the man who rescued his son must be a good man, despite Javert's insistence that he is an ex-convict. The claim that his belief ("Criminals cannot change") was shattered by Valjean's goodness has no grounds.
  • At the day of Cosette's and Marius' wedding, Valjean is told by the Prefect that a man called Thénardier had important revelations to him. Valjean goes to confront Thénardier, who shoots him and then falls through a trapdoor to his death. Valjean makes it back to his house after the wedding and dies while Cosette reads to him from an adventure novel.
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