‘Le théâtre de la jeunesse’

‘Le théâtre de la jeunesse’ was a French television youth theater program that ran from 1960 to 1968 on channel in 1963 one of the episodes was entitled ‘La case de l'oncle Tom’ (Uncle Tom’s Cabin). This children's program took the form of a drama and this episode is an adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 work Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which centers on a highly tolerant, respectful Black slave in the United States who is deeply imbued with Christian sentiments. The book highlights the reality of slavery as it existed at the time the novel was written. Regarding the program, Jean-Christophe Averty said his fondest memory was "casting Black actors—something rare in France at the time—and revitalizing the myth of Uncle Tom, whose sentimentality Black Americans could no longer abide"3. Musical interludes are performed by the great blues pianist Memphis Slim, a frequent collaborator of Jean-Christophe Averty. In this program, the director also draws parallels with current events in the United States during the 1960s, showing footage of police crackdowns on Black Americans.

Le théâtre de la jeunesse – French title

The Youth Theater – English title

 

A 1963 French television production [RTF, ORTF (Paris)]

Producer: Claude Santelli

Director: Jean-Christophe Averty

Story: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Teleplay: Yves Jamiaque

Photography: [black & white]

Music: Memphis Slim (John Len Chatman)

Running time: 61 minutes

 

Story: Episode ‘La case de l'oncle Tom’: In the nineteenth century, in Kentucky, a southern state, Mr. Selby, a rich planter, and his wife, treat their slaves with kindness. Due to money problems, the couple is forced to part with several of them, including Uncle Tom, the most devoted, Eliza and her young son, Henri. Eliza and Henri manage to escape before the slave ship arrives. Uncle Tom's path crosses that of Miss Evangeline Saint-Clare, who encourages her father to buy Tom. But after a short stay with his new bosses, he was once again sold...

 

Cast:

Tom - Robert Liensol

Ophelia - Madeleine Clervanne

Saint-Clare - Daniel Ceccaldi

Simon Legree - Julien Guiomar

Marie - Claude Winter

Eva - Sylviane Margollé

Georges - Philippe Coussonneau

Cassy - Toto Bissainthe

Shelby - André Cellier

Sambo - Dia Fara

Samuel - Gérard Lemoine

Haley - Jacques Marin

Chloé - Jenny Alpha

Emily - Marie Mergey

Elisa - Lydia Ewandé

Slave merchants - Michel Trévières, Alain MacMoy

André - Abdel Moula Hakmi

Townswomen - Andrée Champeaux Flama Walter, Jacqueline Rivière

Adolphe - Ambroise Bia

Mammy - Louise Chanfrein

Poly - Juliette Justine

Same - Nanette Maya

Dinah - Darling Légitimus

Topsy - Joceline Alger

Doctor - Jacques Butin

Townsmen - Pierre Peloux, Maurice Coussonneau

Slave buyer - Jean Degrave

The man with the eyeglass - Alain Janey

Emmeline – Patricia Granger

Emmeline's mother - Marie-Thérèse Travantal

Old woman - Danièle Oranger

With: Memphis Slim (John Len Chatman)