César runs a bar along Marseilles' port, assisted by his 23 year old son, Marius. Colorful characters abound: M. Panisse, an aging widower and prosperous sail maker; Honorine, a fishmonger with a sidewalk stall near the bar; her daughter, Fanny, who helps her sell cockles just outside the bar; and various old salts. Friends since childhood, Fanny and Marius love each other, but Marius has a secret wanderlust: every ship's whistle stirs a longing for foreign lands. When M. Panisse seeks Fanny's hand in marriage and when a departing clipper needs a deckhand, Marius and Fanny must decide who and what they love most. César, with his generous, wise spirit, tries to guide his son.
Marius is a 1931 French romantic drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin, and Alida Rouffe. Based on the 1929 play of the same name by Marcel Pagnol, it is the first part of the Marseille Trilogy, which also includes the films Fanny (1932) and César (1936). The film was made for the French subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. A separate Swedish-language version, titled Longing for the Sea and directed by John W. Brunius, was also released in 1931, and a German-language version, titled The Golden Anchor and also directed by Korda, was released the following year.
