GROUPE OCTOBRE

An amateur theater troupe started in 1932 by Maurice Baquet, the Groupe Octobre had strong ties to the socialist Front Populaire. Formed from the Prémices group of theFédération du théâtre ouvrier, the group sought to advance socialist and revolutionary ideas through theater and was particularly influenced by the avant-garde and revolutionary works of Revolutionary Russian writers (the group's name was a reference to the Russian Revolution). Perhaps the most famous member of the group was the poet Jacques Prévert. A number of the members also appear inJean Renoir'sLe Crime de Monsieur Lange(1936). In cinema, the group's most evident influence comes through Prévert and his influence, particularly on the films ofMarcel Carnéand, therefore, on the larger movement ofLe Réalisme poétiqueor poetic realism, which is grounded in the proletarian ideals of the group.