Service de nuit (1944)
Directed by Jean Faurez, Belisario L. Randone

Film Review

Having triumphed in her most famous role in the phenomenally successful melodrama Le Voile bleu (1942), Gaby Morlay throws herself into a very different part in this good-natured comedy.  Service de nuit is an early example of the portmanteau or episodic film that would become massively popular in France throughout the 1950s and 60s, with Morlay playing the role of the crucial character who knits the disparate story strands together.  Jean Faurez's low-key direction allows each member of the ensemble of acting talent to shine, and after Morlay (who has never looked more radiant on screen), Jacqueline Bouvier (later to become Jacqueline Pagnol) is the mightiest scene stealer, closely followed by Julien Carette.  The script isn't much to write home about (the gags are transparent, the characters pretty shallow, the stories banal) but Faurez and his cast make the most of it, the result being a mildly entertaining film à sketches that shows off a pretty rural setting to great effect.

Film Synopsis

Suzanne works as a telephone operator in a small village in the Savoie region of France.  It is a privileged position and Suzanne finds herself privy to all the secrets and intrigues that go on in her close-knit community.  One of nature's habitual benefactors, she uses her position to help others in need, whether they want it or not...