On this day in movie history - The Phantom Carriage (1939 movie & novel):

The Phantom Carriage

a.k.a. The Phantom Wagon,

French title: La charrette fantôme,

directed by Julien Duvivier,

written by Julien Duvivier, Alexandre Arnoux,

based on the novel Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness by Selma Lagerlöf,

original Swedish title: Körkarlen,

released in Sweden on September 8, 1939.

Music by Jacques Ibert.

Cast: Pierre Fresnay, Marie Bell, Micheline Francey, Louis Jouvet, Jean Mercanton, Ariane Borg, Alexandre Rignault, Robert Le Vigan, Palau, René Génin, Marie-Hélène Dasté, Philippe Richard, Georges Mauloy, Joffre, Marcel Pérès, Jean Claudio, Andrée Méry, Mila Parély, Henri Nassiet, Valentine Tessier, Jean Buquet, Marcel Chabrier, Marguerite de Morlaye, Georges Douking, Michel François, Édouard Francomme, Lucy Kieffer, Mme Lherbay, Suzanne Morlot, Frédéric O'Brady, Jean Parédès, Sylvain, Génia Vaury, Eugène Yvernès.

Recommended reading:

Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness

by Selma Lagerlöf.

Translated by William Frederick Harvey.
Published by e-artnow.
First published 1912.
ISBN-10: 8027340209
ISBN-13: 9788027340200

Description:

Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness is a result of a collaboration between Selma Lagerlöf and the Swedish association. The novel was written as a means of public education about tuberculosis. It is set in a small town in Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century. Edith, a young "Slum Sister" (social worker) in the service of the Salvation Army is on her death bed dying of tuberculosis. She requests that before she dies, she would like to again see David Holm, one of her charges. It becomes apparent that the two have a special relationship.