Marcel PAGNOL (1895-1974). 2 L.A.S., 1955, to General Édouar - Lot 492

Marcel PAGNOL (1895-1974). 2 L.A.S., 1955, to General Édouard Corniglion-Molinier; 11 1/2 pages small in-4 and 1 1/4 pages in-4. Long letter about his tax problems. A meticulous account of his tax problems, which have been going on for three years. In August 1952, the "polyvalents", before hunting down small shopkeepers, decided to make an example by hitting the "big ones". They discovered that Mr. Pagnol, who had claimed to live in Monaco since 1943, actually lived in France"; he was in fact Marcel Pagnoul, composer and orchestra conductor... But the tax authorities were claiming 66 million euros from him... "The polyvalents attacked the Société des Films Marcel Pagnol, and declared that I was receiving too high royalties. They concluded, after examinations, investigations, reports, etc., that my work as scriptwriter, dialogue writer and director was worth no more than 10% of profits, and raised the amount to 56 million. The company was lost. It was then that he had the misfortune to lose his daughter: "I was unable to think of my interests, which seemed to me quite miserable". The Company's tax increase was dropped, and tax debts reduced to 31 million; but he could not be told according to which text he was being taxed! He works on polishing Judas, to be performed on September 20 at the Théâtre de Paris. "I'll have another play performed at the Variétés, and then I'll leave for America, where William Wyler is going to shoot my Premier Amour, with means we don't have"... He adds that he writes "on school notebook pages. It reminds me of Condorcet"... August 8, 1955. He thanks his beloved Édouard for his tie (of Commander of the Legion of Honor) "which you yourself tied around my collar". As the final act of his "long tax adventure" is about to be played out, he asks the administration not to show him the above summary, which "might irritate those powerful chiefs"...