The first “corporate” presentation of L’Atalante took place on April 25th at the Palais Rochechouart cinema (on the Gaumont circuit). The audience was primarily composed of theater owners who showed weak interest. Several critics were also present at the screening, and there were those who defended the film. However, in the eyes of G.F.F.A. directors, the reaction of the tradesmen was essential, thus the lukewarm reception of L’Atalante led them to consider the need for significant changes. They convinced J. Louis-Nounez (who couldn’t continue to defend a film which, in its previous version, had a hard time finding an audience) to include a famous song, Le chaland qui passe, by Italian composer C.A. Bixio and sung by Lys Gauty, in the musical score by Jaubert. The film was even renamed with the name of the song. According to J. Louis-Nounez and Riéra, with a heavy heart Vigo also conceded to the changes which seemed necessary to save the film commercially. (…) Henri Beauvais left the position of distribution director for G.F.F.A in 1937 to found his own production and distribution house Franfilmdis. Shortly thereafter he bought the rights to a stock of old Gaumont films, including Taris, Zéro de conduite and L’Atalante. He restored the film to a form that was at least close to the film that Vigo had desired, though it did not correspond exactly to the director’s intentions. At that point, L’Atalante began its true career at Studio des Ursulines. (…) In August-September 1950, a screening of L’Atalante was held at the Festival du Film de Demain, organized under the auspices of the Cinématheque français. The copy shown was completed by Henri Langlois thanks to various cuts given to him by Henri Beauvais. It is not an integral version (something no doubt impossible to recreate), but it was probably the most complete version possible at that time. It marked both the end of the transformations to which Jean Vigo’s masterpiece would be subjected as well as the film’s consecration as a classic.

Pierre Lherminier, compiled by, Jean Vigo. Œuvre de cinéma, Parigi, La Cinémathèque Française/Lherminier, 1985