Boulevard du Crime/Théatre Déjazet

One of my favorite movies of all time is Les Enfants du Paradis, the Children of Paradise. Directed by Marcel Carné, it was filmed in 1944 in Paris. DURING World War II! It is crazy to me that they could have been filming in Paris when it was occupied by Germans, and for me, that gives the movie even more appeal.

The interior filming was done at the Théatre Déjazet, on the Boulevard du Temple, and I was very excited to learn that the theater still exists. I immediately went to find it.

It turns out it’s now owned by Jean Bouquin, pictured here, who took great pleasure in telling me all about it. He bought it in 1976, when it had been sitting unused and in disrepair, and was slated to become a grocery store. He has restored it to its former beauty.

The theater was first built in 1770 by the Count D’Artois as a jeu de paume (the original game of tennis but played without rackets and started over 250 years ago). In 1778, Mozart played a private concert there for the Count and Marie Antoinette.

During the French Revolution, it became a public bath, then in 1851, it began its history as a music hall and entertainment venue. In 1859, a famous comedienne, Virginie Dejazet, renamed it after herself and from 1859 until 1939, it housed various theatrical plays and countless singers and entertainers. The street where it is located became known as the “Boulevard du Crime” and at one time had over 20 theaters and entertainment venues with 10,000 people coming to stroll along it each evening.

During the French Revolution, it became a public bath, then in 1851, it began its history as a music hall and entertainment venue. In 1859, a famous comedienne, Virginie Dejazet, renamed it after herself and from 1859 until 1939, it housed various theatrical plays and countless singers and entertainers. The street where it is located became known as the “Boulevard du Crime” and at one time had over 20 theaters and entertainment venues with 10,000 people coming to stroll along it each evening.

In 1853, Emperor Napoleon III directed Baron Haussmann, his prefect, to demolish many of the small medieval streets in Paris to create larger avenues, (an aesthetic decision but also to create a network of sewers) and Haussmann worked on this enormous project between 1853 and 1870. The layout of the grand avenues in Paris is the evidence of his work today. Interestingly, this theater, because of its location, was spared and continued as an entertainment venue.

In 1939, it became a movie theater, but closed during the German occupation, which is when Marcel Carné discovered it and filmed Les Enfants du Paradis.

The website to see what is currently playing is www.dejazet.com. My husband and I went to see Kamel the Magician and not only was it an amazing show, but it was also a unique experience to see a show in a two hundred-and-fifty-year-old building!