Le Confident de ces dames (1959)
Directed by Jean Boyer

Comedy
aka: The Woman's Confidant

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Le Confident de ces dames (1959)
After Coiffeur pour dames (1952) and Le Couturier de ces dames (1956), Le Confident de ces dames completes a loose trilogy of films, directed by Jean Boyer, in which Fernandel plays a likeable professional whose healing hands have an irresistible allure for women of all persuasions.  Filmed in Italy, the film sees Fernandel sharing the limelight with some well-known Italian actors, notably the rising starlet Sylva Koscina, who found fame through a series of spy thrillers and historical epics, and Ugo Tognazzi, one of Italian cinema's foremost comic actors.  This was Tognazzi's first outing in a French film; he is better known for his outrageous turns in La Grande bouffe (1973) and La Cage aux folles (1978).  Denise Grey, who began her illustrious career way back in the silent era, appears uncannily at ease in Fernandel's mad-cap universe and very nearly steals the show, facing down even Ugo Tognazzi in the charisma and comedy stakes.

By the late 1950s, Fernandel's career was distinctly on the wane.  Le Confident de ces dames was just one in a long line of his films that was both mauled by the critics and failed spectacularly at the box office.  Although the actor's fortunes would be spectacularly reversed with his next film, La Vache et le prisonnier (1959) (which attracted an audience of over 8 million), most critics were happy to write Fernandel off as a worn-out has-bean.  No one could mistake Le Confident de ces dames for a classic of French cinema, but it is a sprightly little comedy that is buoyed up by the entertaining contributions of its lead actors.  The chaotic plot is redeemed by some highly amusing comic situations, which occasionally take a turn for the surreal - notably the sequence in which the town's afflicted resort to seeking medical advice from Fernandel via the intermediary of their pets.  Oddly, the film probably has more relevance today than when it was first seen, since it can easily be read as a mordant satire on the cult of the celebrity.
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.
Next Jean Boyer film:
Les Croulants se portent bien (1961)

Film Synopsis

Owing to a shortage of doctors, the inhabitants of the little Italian town Figuerol look to their veterinary Julien Goberti to treat their ailments as well as those of their pets.  Even when a qualified doctor, Maria Bonifaci, arrives in the town, the locals still prefer the healing touch of Julien.   Unable to attract clients of her own, Maria soon becomes jealous of Julien's popularity and takes steps to undermine him, without success.  When Julien successfully cures an international star, the world media descends on the town and the modest vet becomes an instant celebrity...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: Jean Boyer
  • Script: Jean Boyer (dialogue), Jean Manse, Serge Véber
  • Cinematographer: Charles Suin
  • Music: Lelio Luttazzi
  • Cast: Fernandel (Giuliano Goberti), Sylva Koscina (Maria Bonifati), Ugo Tognazzi (Cesar), Denise Grey (La Comtesse), Lauretta Masiero (Une cliente), Memmo Carotenuto (Antoine), Aroldo Tieri (Le Journaliste), Bice Valori (Lucienne), Caprice Chantal (Barbara), Carlo Campanini (Le Professeur), Didi Sullivan (Carol), Lauro Gazzolo (Le President), Pina Gallini (Le servante de Goberti), Dolores Palumbo, Marco Tulli, Guglielmo Inglese, Silvio Noto, Isarco Ravaioli, Fiorella Ferrero, Lina Furia
  • Country: Italy / France
  • Language: French
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 85 min
  • Aka: The Woman's Confidant

The very best fantasy films in French cinema
sb-img-30
Whilst the horror genre is under-represented in French cinema, there are still a fair number of weird and wonderful forays into the realms of fantasy.
The best films of Ingmar Bergman
sb-img-16
The meaning of life, the trauma of existence and the nature of faith - welcome to the stark and enlightening world of the world's greatest filmmaker.
The greatest French film directors
sb-img-29
From Jean Renoir to François Truffaut, French cinema has no shortage of truly great filmmakers, each bringing a unique approach to the art of filmmaking.
French cinema during the Nazi Occupation
sb-img-10
Even in the dark days of the Occupation, French cinema continued to impress with its artistry and diversity.
The best of American cinema
sb-img-26
Since the 1920s, Hollywood has dominated the film industry, but that doesn't mean American cinema is all bad - America has produced so many great films that you could never watch them all in one lifetime.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © frenchfilms.org 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright