1946 : a chaotic start for the world’s biggest film festival
By Françoise MAUPIN
After a false start in 1939, the first international film festival opened in Cannes on September 20, 1946. AFP journalist Françoise Maupin reported on the chaotic start in a story published in 1987 at the time of the festival’s 40th anniversary.
PARIS, May 3, 1987 (AFP) – “I declare the first Agriculture Festival open”. It was with this magnificent gaffe that the French trade and industry minister opened the first Cannes Film Festival on September 20, 1946.
It was the start of a very long tradition. Emotion often overcame those on the Cannes stage. So, 30 years later the great Akira Kurosawa was misnamed Harakiri Kurosawa and Ettore Scola, Hetero Scola.
It had taken seven years, the age of reason, for the festival to be born. The idea had emerged in 1939 to compete with the Venice Mostra, which was dominated by Mussolini, Cannes being chosen over Biarritz. The festival was scheduled for September 1-20 of that year. But as one of the festival’s founding fathers Philippe Erlanger wrote, “The name of the festival was already shining in neon lights when mankind’s madness extinguished the lights.”
On September 3 war was declared with Germany and the American stars who had already arrived on the croisette: Tyrone Power, Gary Cooper, Norma Shearer returned to Hollywood.
Film critic Robert Chazal reminisced “The former casino had been made into a cinema. The seats were numbered and I was given a strapontin “. “But it quickly turned into havoc. The projection of a Russian film was interrupted several times. There were accusations of sabotage and the Soviet delegation threatened to pull out. A bit later Alfred Hitchcock’s "Notorious" was projected, but with the reels inversed. It ended up with everyone in good humour the parties were brilliant, especially the Mexican evening where the tequila flowed.”
To ensure that Cannes kept the event its mayor Raymond Picaud took the snap decision to build a superb palace. So, Robert Chazal, reported, the opening evening of the second festival was a bit different as all the technicians and workmen who had helped with constructing the building were presented.
“It was almost finished, except for the roof, that they had replaced with tarpaulin. This makeshift construction held up until the day before the festival ended and then was carried off by a big storm. So, the prize giving ceremony was hastily moved to the former casino.”
In 1948, and in 1950, the festival did not take place, due to lack of money. After an edition in 1949 at which Orson Welle’s, “The Third Man” was shown the festival really took off in 1951. The festival palace had been really redone. It only moved in 1983 to the “Bunker” on the place of the former casino, where the first festival had taken place.
Film stars, directors, all the famous paraded on the Croisette.