A short while ago I managed to get hold of a copy of the 1961 Rennes-le-Chateau film staring Noel Corbu as l'abbe Saunière, called La Rue Tourne.
Noel Corbu dressed as Bérenger Saunière the priest of Rennes-le-Chateau, for the film, La Rue Tourne
Unfortanatly the film transferred from a poor video quality copy, had some parts of the film unviewable. Below are some stills from the better quality parts of the film.
If Noel Corbu didn't write the script, he certainly seemed to have contributed heavily to the story portrayed in the film.
A young Noel Corbu pointing at the Mary Magdalene church Altar and Noel older.
Noel Corbu was a hotelier in the small French village of Rennes-le-Château.
In 1946 Noel Corbu purchased the former estate of the Abbé Bérenger Sauniere, the former priest of Rennes-le-Chateau between 1885-1909, and during Easter 1955 he opened a restaurant in the Villa Bethania, later also turned into a Hotel. The hotel itself faced some difficulties due to its fairly isolated location.
Between 12th and 14th January 1956, the local newspaper, La Depeche du Midi serialized an interview with Noel Corbu in which he claimed that Father Saunière had discovered the treasure of Blanche of Castile the wife of Louis VIII and the regent of the future Saint Louis. This story was repeated by other French newspapers, lending the hotel a mysterious reputation which made it popular.
Noel Corbu's Newspaper Articles - Original French Newspapers
French Television later made a film casting Noel Corbu as l'Abbe Saunière called La Rue Tourne. The film covers Sauniere's arrival at Rennes-le-Chateau in 1885, to find the church and presbytery in a poor state.
Sauniere's arrival at Rennes-le-Chateau in 1885
