La Marseillaise 1938

This film centers on the rebellious city of Marseille, where the early chapters of the French Revolution unfold largely offstage. The citizens seize the Fort Saint-Jean and establish a revolutionary council, signaling a local hunger for change even as Paris debates constitutional reform. One volunteer, Julien Carette, embodies the town’s participation as five hundred men answer the call and march toward Paris.

When war with Austria is declared in 1792, Marseille raises a force to head to Paris, linking the city’s gritty resolve with the national upheaval. In Paris, at a banquet, a singer from Alsace moves the marching men, who adopt his patriotic ballad as their marching song, soon known as La Marseillaise.

In July, Prussia joins with Austria, and the Brunswick Manifesto fuels anger that culminates in the storming of the Tuileries Palace, imprisoning the King [Pierre Renoir] and the Queen [Lise Delamare]. A volunteer army then marches east to face the highly professional Prussian forces and, in September, defeats them at Valmy.

The film blends fictional characters with real events, showing genuine revolutionaries who sought constitutional change alongside privileged figures who accepted the need for orderly reform. Capitaine Langlade [Jaque Catelain] and other Marseille residents—such as Louison [Nadia Sibirskaïa] and Madame de Saint Laurent [Irène Joachim]—populate the story, illustrating the diverse voices and ferment that defined the era.