La Belle Equipe (aka They Were Five) (1936)

Five friends (Jean Gabin, Charles Vanel, Raymond Aimos, Charles Morat, Raphael Medina) are down and out and unemployed. Their luck changes when they win the national lottery. Deciding they would be economically better off pooling their resources, they buy a small piece of land near a river and plan to build a garden restaurant and dance hall. But when the ex-wife (Viviane Romance) of one of the men shows up, it's only a matter of time before their dream is shattered. Directed by Julien Duvivier, this film about male bonding and friendship offsets the destructive Viviane Romance character with a sweet girl (Micheline Cheirel) to offset any charges of misogyny. Still, even Cheirel's good girl is partly responsible (though no fault of her own) of the men's dream eroding away. One can't help but be sad when a beautiful dream comes crashing down on the dreamers. After the film's original French release did poorly, a new "happy" ending was shot and for decades was the only available version. In 2015, it was restored with the darker ending which is the version I saw. With Marcelle Geniat and Fernand Charpin.