Flick Review < Freedom for Us | Rene Clair, 1931
Freedom for Us, 1931
Director / Writer : René Clair
Cinematography: Georges Périnal
Stars: Raymond Cordy, Henri Marchand, Rolla France
Music: Georges Auric
When Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) premiered, the original distribution company of À nous la liberté, Tobis, wanted to sue. Director René Clair refused to join such a suit, saying that he considered it a compliment if Charles Chaplin based his film on René Clair’s, but the suit went ahead nevertheless. Tobis, sued United Artists and Charles Chaplin for plagiarism. The suit, with separate segments in France and in the US, went on for more than a decade, right through WWII. Charles Chaplin, at the request of his lawyers, finally settled, but never admitted to the charge. René Clair stayed aloof from the affair, and he and Charles Chaplin, whom he greatly admired, remained friends.
