Bringing to a close his 'Marseille' trilogy, César (1936) was one of Marcel Pagnol's most significant projects. This text reviews the questions that Pagnol posed in the film, looking at how he reflected the contemporary and artistic culture of the city, around which the trilogy was based. Above all, Stephen Heath looks at César's relation to the contemporary artistic and cultural-historical reality of Marseille, the defining locality of the trilogy and in many ways its main character.

Stephen Heath is a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, and the author of Questions of Cinema (1985), among other books.

Introduction
1. Pagnol, Cinema
2. The Marseille Trilogy: Synopses
3. 'César'
4. Marseille
Conclusion
Credits
Bibliographical Note
Picture Credits