Le Diable boiteux (1948)
Directed by Sacha Guitry

Film Review

The name Talleyrand may not be as widely known as that of Bonaparte but, of the many great men who participated in the French Revolution (and its aftermath) few had as great an impact as the Prince de Talleyrand.  Historical figures generally divide into two categories, the breakers and the makers - those who smash things up like spoiled two-year-olds and those who try to put things back together again.  We find it easier to remember those in the first camp and overlook those in the other, even though the latter have arguably had a much greater impact in shaping modern civilisation.  Talleyrand was one of the makers, a uniquely gifted diplomat who, equipped with a remarkable skill for self-preservation, served under no less than six régimes, not only oiling the wheels of the French Revolution and reining in Napoléon's insane ambitions, but also restoring the French monarchy and securing that elusive goal of a lasting peace with Great Britain (no mean feat, as France and Britain had been at war, on and off, for the past seven hundred years).  Talleyrand also has the distinction of being France's first Prime Minister, although he only occupied the post for three months in 1815.

Yet whilst no one disputes Talleyrand's achievements, historians remain divided over whether he was motivated by noble aims, working for the greater glory of France, or merely a shameless political opportunist, ready to switch allegiances at the drop of a tricorn for his own survival and so he could slake his insatiable thirst for women, wealth and power.  Talleyrand's eagerness to renounce Napoléon and throw his lot in with the Bourbons in 1814 is regarded by some as an act of treason, although it is worth noting that Talleyrand was hardly the most devoted follower of Napoléon and would often go behind his back to undo what he considered to be ruinous acts of folly.  Today, Napoléon is regarded as a national hero in France, a symbol of French nationalism; Talleyrand is less well-known, even though he perhaps has a much greater claim to be seen as the saviour of France in the 19th century and the founder of the modern French state.

In his 1948 film Le Diable boiteux, Sacha Guitry leaves us in no doubt as to what he thinks of Talleyrand - an unjustly maligned genius of statecraft who steered France through its most turbulent period without securing for himself the recognition he deserved for his achievements.  Guitry's Talleyrand is hardly a model of virtue - he is manipulative, greedy for power, and as susceptible to the pleasures of the flesh as any of us.  In one memorable exchange, Napoléon calls him "a turd in a silk stocking", to which he retorts: "what a shame that such a great man should have been so badly brought up."  Talleyrand, as seen by Guitry, may have his warts and his peccadilloes, but he is evidently as great a man as Bonaparte, if not greater.   Waging a war is easy, any fool with an - er - Napoléon complex can do that.  Forging an alliance that will bring a lasting peace to the continent of Europe - that requires a special genius.  If it was left to Sacha Guitry, Talleyrand would have been canonised and his remains given pride of place in the Panthéon long ago.

Guitry's interest in Talleyrand, and more crucially his personal identification with him, is easily accounted for.  Immediately after the Liberation in 1944, Guitry was arrested and imprisoned (for sixty days) on a charge of collaboration during the Occupation.  Whilst it is true that Guitry thrived under the Occupation, much of his creative output during this period expressed an overt anti-German sentiment.  This is most evident in his 1942 film Le Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary, which openly ridiculed the imperialist ambitions of Nazi German.  Guitry's one faux pas was to publish a historical text entitled De Jeanne d'Arc à Philippe Pétain which was judged by his detractors to be anti-French and pro-Pétainist.  After his release from prison, Guitry fought long and hard to clear his name, but whilst the charge of collaboration was ultimately dropped in 1947 his reputation had by this stage been irreparably damaged.  Like Talleyrand, history would judge him unfairly, and the most patriotic of Frenchman would forever be tainted with the brand of treason.

Le Diable boiteux was Sacha Guitry's most earnest attempt at self-vindication.  If he could persuade his audience that Talleyrand had been misjudged, surely he could convince them he was a similar victim of bad press?  It was a dangerous strategy, since by likening himself to Talleyrand Guitry risked reinforcing the prejudices against himself.   Guitry's first script for the film was deemed to be too inflammatory by the censor and was banned.  Undeterred, he developed this into a stage play entitled Talleyrand, which found some success when it was first performed in 1948.  It was this play, made up of several scenes from Talleyrand's long and distinguished career, which provided the basis for Le Diable boiteux, one of Guitry's most ambitious films.

Naturally, Guitry (an accomplished actor as well as a great playwright and filmmaker) took the central role of Talleyrand; indeed he appears to positively revel in the part and would later reprise it in his 1955 magnum opus, Napoléon.  The rest of the cast is made up of actors who had appeared in the stage version.  The part of Napoléon went to Émile Drain, a French actor whose resemblance to the historical personage in his later years is uncanny.  Drain played Napoléon I in several films, including Viktor Tourjansky's L'Aiglon (1931) and Léonce Perret's Madame Sans-Gêne (1924), as well as Guitry's previous films: Les Perles de la couronne (1937) and Remontons les Champs-Élysées (1938).

Guitry's scurrilous sense of humour enlivens what might otherwise have been a dry period piece, so that Le Diable boiteux is not only one of his most attractively shot historical films, it is also  one of his funniest.  Only Guitry would think of getting the four actors who are cast as Talleyrand's faithful servants to also play the four heads of state whom Talleyrand serves under (Napoléon through to King Louis-Philippe).  In one memorable scene (possibly the best sight gag in any Guitry film), the four servants hobble up the stairs after their lame master, and we are left pondering who is leading whom.  Is Talleyrand merely a public servant, a lackey to the great men who govern France, or is he the real power behind the throne, the kingmaker and architect of a new world order...?   Le Diable boiteux is an entertaining diversion that offers some interesting perspectives on an important and fascinating historical figure, but it does leave you feeling a little queasy.  Just how certain can we be that our present heads of state are really in charge of things?  What if they are mere puppets controlled by a Talleyrand-like arch-manipulator, for purposes we cannot even guess...?    The one we should be watching is not the figurehead that we supposedly choose for ourselves, but the shadowy person in the background who is pulling the strings, the devil with the limp...

Film Synopsis

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was born in Paris on 2nd February 1754.  Afflicted with a game leg (which earned him the nickname Le Diable boiteux or Lame Devil), he was unable to follow his father in pursuit of military honours and instead opted for an ecclesiastical career.  Under Louis XVI he was appointed Bishop of Autun, a position that allowed him to become one of the most prominent figures in the French Revolution.  The consummate diplomat, Talleyrand distinguished himself as Foreign Minister to the Emperor Napoléon, but when Napoléon fell from grace he continued to thrive, playing a crucial role in the restoration of the monarchy.  It was under King Louis-Philippe that Talleyrand had his greatest achievement: a political alliance with Great Britain.  Some see him as a traitor and opportunist, but no one can deny that he was a great diplomat, possibly the most adept political manoeuvrer in history...