Jean Gabin, une âme française

Directed by René-Jean Bouyer

With testimonials from Mathias Moncorgé, Costa-Gavras, Marc Lemonier, Michel Wyn, Yannick Yéhée, Ginette Vincendeau, Brigitte Hernandez, Patrice Gélinet, and Bernard Stora. The kid from the suburbs, unloved by his parents, little Jean Moncorgé, moved to Montmartre in 1914. A rowdy street urchin, he ended up working as an usher in a music hall. In 1927, he met Mistinguett at the Moulin Rouge. She was 52, he was 25, and they fell madly in love. Many others would follow. The most famous were Marlène Dietrich and Michèle Morgan. A man of the people who became a landowner in Normandy, an anarchist, and a horse breeder, Gabin had several lives. Before the war, he was the star who celebrated the rebellious working class. During the war, he left Hollywood, reverted to Moncorgé, and enlisted in the navy.