lovers Jean Gabin (qv) and Marlene Dietrich (qv), who had  recently returned to France after the end of the war. Dietrich  pulled out of the project at the last minute, however, and Gabin  followed her. With the rest of the cast already selected and  production scheduled to begin soon, Carné and Prévert had to choose  an unknown actor for the role of Jean Diego, a singer/performer who  had recently had some success in the French Music Halls 