Honoré de Marseille (1956) Directed by Maurice Régamey
Comedy / Musical
Film Review
One of Fernandel's better comic outings, Honoré
de Marseille is tailor-made for the horse-faced comedian and gives him ample opportunity
to regale us with his talent for no-nonsense, inoffensive comedy. There are some
very funny jokes, and a wonderful piece of slapstick with Francis Blanche. A number
of cheerful musical numbers sung by the film's star also add greatly to the film's appeal.
The film offers an attractive, deeply nostalgic portrait of Marseilles, capturing the
beauty of the ancient seaport and the affable bonhomie of the people who live there.
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Film Synopsis
Honoré is one of the most popular figures in the French port of Marseille.
Interviewed by a journalist, he proudly recounts the history of the town,
laying particular emphasis on the important part that his ancestors have
played over the years. If Honoré is to be believed, it was his
illustrious Greek predecessor Protis who founded the city, and it was the
Roman captain Honorius who invented the popular game of pétanque when
a ball from a catapult landed at his feet.
Indeed, so immense is the contribution that Honoré's ancestors have
made to Marseille it is a wonder that the city isn't named after him!
The only dark cloud in Honoré's sunny life is his waspish wife, Toinette,
who for some reason resents his flirting with other women. Toinette
has put up with her husband's shameless philandering for long enough and
the final straw comes one Christmas when Honoré has to present a beauty
contest in which he must rig the outcome...
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
Continental Films, quality cinema under the Nazi Occupation
At the time of the Nazi Occupation of France during WWII, the German-run company Continental produced some of the finest films made in France in the 1940s.