Alain Delon did everything to make it happen Mr. Klein
Alain Delon He achieved many successes throughout his career. But sometimes things didn’t go as he hoped. Mr. Klein (1976) is the perfect example, and probably the failure that most hurt the star, who died on August 18, 2024 at the age of 88. It must be said that Alain Delon was very involved in this film, taking inspiration from the testimony of Marius Klein, who testified in the documentary Pain and pity by Marcel Ophüls. A man who during the war had tried to prove that he was not Jewish, but Catholic.
This story initially attracted the attention of Franco Solinas and Costa-Gavras who developed a first screenplay with the idea of giving the lead role to Jean-Paul Belmondo. Due to an injury to the actor, the project could not be realized, before Alain Delon became interested. The latter then did everything to set up the project Mr. Kleindespite the departure of Costa-Gavras. He was particularly convincing Joseph Losey to direct it again after The Assassination of Trotsky (1972). The director accepted after having reworked the script with Franco Solinas. For his part, Alain Delon was also a producer and hired part of his moneyas he explains in a biography written by Henry-Jean Servat
The film existed only by my will. The producer Norbert Saada called me to read the script to Joseph Losey who called me immediately, after closing the last page, to say he wanted to do it and to ask me if I wanted the role. I said: “Sure”. That’s how I produced the film.
The failure that costs Alain Delon dearly
Mr. Klein follows an art dealer who is not very concerned about the situation in France during the German occupation. In fact, he takes advantage of it buy works at low pricesespecially to Jews who are in a hurry to leave France. His life is turned upside down when he discovers that a Jewish namesake is using his name. To avoid getting into trouble, he goes to warn the authorities, claiming to be Catholic. Only now the police suspect him.
This emotional and Kafkaesque story, which describes a sad period in history, is carried forward by a great Alain Delon and is characterized by some difficult scenes (the first sequence of a woman visited by a doctor). Unfortunately, the film did not attract a mass audience upon its release. With just over 710,000 entries, Mr. Klein was a commercial failure. Its budget was estimated at 20 million francs. For Alain Delon the losses would have been even more colossal, he specified, continuing his previous statement.
That’s how I took a serious beating and lost 300 million francs at the time.
A Caesar who passes under his nose
Alain Delon also received this “slap” from the members of Caesar’s Academy. Despite the excellent response from the press, the first thing that was missing was the jury at the Cannes Film Festival Mr. Klein. And this, despite the presence on the jury of Costa-Gavras, who would have done everything for Alain Delon to win the award for best performance. Then, it was at the 1977 Césars that the actor felt offended.
Mr. Klein certainly won the César for best film and best direction, as well as best production design for Alexandre Trauner, nothing was awarded to Alain Delon for his performance. Although the favorite, the actor saw Michel Galabru wins thanks to the The Judge and the Murderer. A decision that greatly annoyed Alain Delon. Moreover, when he won the César for best actor in 1985 for his role in Our storyhe was notable for his absence from the ceremony.
Source: Cine Serie
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