On This Day

"L'Atalante," a French film directed by Jean Vigo, starring Michel Simon, Dita Parlo, and Jean Dasté, is released

L'Atalante, also released as Le Chaland qui passe (English: The Passing Barge), is a 1934 French film written and directed by Jean Vigo, and starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, and Michel Simon. After...

L'Atalante, also released as Le Chaland qui passe (English: The Passing Barge), is a 1934 French film written and directed by Jean Vigo, and starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, and Michel Simon.

After the difficult release of his controversial 1933 short film Zero for Conduct, Vigo initially wanted to make a film about the French anarchist and illegalist Eugène Dieudonné, with whom Vigo's father (anarchist Miguel Almereyda) had been associated in 1913. After Vigo and his producer Jacques-Louis Nounez struggled to find the right project for a feature film, Nounez finally gave Vigo an unproduced screenplay by Jean Guinée about barge dwellers. Vigo re-wrote the story with Albert Riéra, while Nounez secured a distribution deal with the Gaumont Film Company with a budget of FF 1 million.

Historical Significance

L'Atalante, also released as Le Chaland qui passe (English: The Passing Barge), is a 1934 French film written and directed by Jean Vigo, and starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, and Michel Simon.

Events Before

  1. "Cavalcade" based on the play by Noël Coward, directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook premier

    "Cavalcade" based on the play by Noël Coward, directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook premieres in New York (Best Production/Picture 1934)

  2. Cricket's Bodyline Tour: Australian batsman Bert Oldfield suffers a fractured skull after being struck by a ball bowled

    Cricket's Bodyline Tour: Australian batsman Bert Oldfield suffers a fractured skull after being struck by a ball bowled by England's Harold Larwood during the Third Test in Adelaide

  3. The name "Pakistan" is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali and gradually accepted by Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, who u

    The name "Pakistan" is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali and gradually accepted by Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, who use it to push for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia

  4. President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor of Germany who forms a government with Franz von

    President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor of Germany who forms a government with Franz von Papen

  5. Nazi Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag, is destroyed by fire, possibly set by the Nazis, who blame and execut

    Nazi Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag, is destroyed by fire, possibly set by the Nazis, who blame and execute Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe

Events After

  1. David McKee is born

    David McKee, British writer and illustrator, known for british writer and illustrator, was born on 1935-01-02.

  2. 1st Orange Bowl: Bucknell beats Miami (FL), 26-0

    1st Orange Bowl: Bucknell beats Miami (FL), 26-0

  3. RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) is first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins in Daventry, England

    RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) is first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins in Daventry, England

  4. Adolf Hitler orders German rearmament in violation of the Treaty of Versailles

    German rearmament was a policy and practice of rearmament carried out by Germany from 1918 to 1939 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which required German disarmament after World War I to…

  5. Nazi politician Hermann Goering (42) weds Emmy Sonnemann (42) in Berlin

    Nazi politician Hermann Goering (42) weds Emmy Sonnemann (42) in Berlin

More from the 1930s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on September 12, 1934?
L'Atalante, also released as Le Chaland qui passe (English: The Passing Barge), is a 1934 French film written and directed by Jean Vigo, and starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, and Michel Simon. After the difficult release of his controversial 1933 short film Zero for Conduct, Vigo initially wanted to make a film about the French anarchist and illegalist Eugène Dieudonné, with whom Vigo's father (anarchist Miguel Almereyda) had been associated in 1913. After Vigo and his producer Jacques-Louis Nounez struggled to find the right project for a feature film, Nounez finally gave Vigo an unproduced screenplay by Jean Guinée about barge dwellers.
Why is "L'Atalante," a French film directed by Jean Vigo, starring Michel Simon, Dit... significant?
L'Atalante, also released as Le Chaland qui passe (English: The Passing Barge), is a 1934 French film written and directed by Jean Vigo, and starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, and Michel Simon.

Explore More