Balloonology 2: The St Raphaël mural

[solved]

In Balloonology 1 we discussed Pascal’s walk in the rain with an old man, passing a restaurant. Pascal first meets this old man in another street, distinguished among other things by a mural advertising “St. Raphaël Quinquina”. Where was it?

The Red Balloon 05:12 © Films Montsouris

While looking for the “Chez Hubert” restaurant among old photos of the rue de la Tombe Issoire, I came across this one. It shows 52-57 rue de la T.I., looking south from the intersection of the Avenue du Parc de Montsouris (now called Avenue René Coty).

52-57 rue de la Tombe Issoire (© Pavillon de l’Arsenal)

I didn’t spot it right away, but there it was, in the distance: a St. Raphaël mural.

Detail of previous (© Pavillon de l'Arsenal}

A Google Street View search quickly revealed that the street Pascal and the old man were walking in is indeed the rue de la Tombe Issoire.They were standing in front of nr 71bis; the St Raphaël mural used to be on the side wall of nr 90.

View from 71 rue de la Tombe Issoire © Google Street View
© Piet Schreuders, November 2011

The “St. Raphaël wall today.

Since we learned that Pascal and the old man were filmed in two separate locations in the same area of the 14th Arrondissement, it seemed plausible that the duo’s third location – a parkside café – was not far from here.

Red Balloon book page 9 / Piet Schreuders November 2011

Just such a spot can be found on the corner of Avenue Reille and the rue Nansouty, bordering the Parc Montsouris — just a few blocks from the two previous locations.

25 avenue Reille, 75014 Paris, November 2011

What’s more, this bar-tabac (called Tabac du Parc Montsouris) is located at 25 avenue Reille. The Lamorisse family (and their film company Films Montsouris) occupied the apartment right above.
Compelling circumstantial evidence, I’d say.

 

 

Narrower and narrower

In the fall of 1955 Pascal Lamorisse was seen running down a narrow alleyway trying to escape from a band of “voyous”.

As we point out in Furore (p. 70), this scene was shot in one of the two narrowest alleys in all of Paris. Here is an archive photo of the same alley in 1962.

Image courtesy of Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Paris

Ten years after The Red Balloon, another Pascal was running through the same alley. It was actor Pascal Fardoulis in the experimental short Les Pays loin (1965) by Jean Rollin. Note that the buildings on the right have not survived the preceding decade.

(Thanks to Roland-François Lack of The CineTourist for alerting me to this movie)