The Great Hope

The Great Hope — Plot

Scenes and images from the French Communist Party's (PCF) 1937 Congress in Arles. La Grande Espérance highlights some of the PCF's new concerns under the Popular Front: a warning against international fascism, a desire for organic unity, and the defense of national heritage and regional cultures. It also reveals the first signs of a cult of personality surrounding Maurice Thorez. La Grande Espérance was screened (and possibly re-edited) after the Liberation. A commentary was then added to the credits emphasizing the continuity of the Communist Party’s political line and the sacrifice of its activists during the war. Today, only this post-1945 version exists.

• Release date
• December 31, 1937
• Runtime
• 29 min
• Genres
• Documentary
• Director
• Jacques Becker

The Great Hope — Cast

Maurice Thorez Himself Marcel Cachin Himself Jacques Duclos Himself

D

Danièle Casanova Herself

B

Benoît Frachon Himself

G

Georges Politzer Himself

M

Marie Politzer Herself

J

Joseph Ramier Himself