Si ça peut vous faire plaisir (1948)
Directed by Jacques Daniel-Norman

Film Review

With its familiar Provençal setting, Si ça peut vous faire plaisir (a.k.a. L'Aventure de Gonfaron) feels like a throwback to Marcel Pagnol's early films of 1930s but it was in fact directed by Jacques Daniel-Norman, a far less distinguished breed of filmmaker.  In a career spanning a decade and a half, Daniel-Norman directed several popular crime films and comedies, his best known being L'Aventure est au coin de la rue (1944).  Here, he has the honour of directing Fernandel when the comic actor was at the height of his popularity, although neither the director nor his lead actor is particularly well-served by a script that lacks originality and flair.  The plot seems to be re-heated leftovers and most of the gags are predictable, although this doesn't stop the ever-enthusiastic Fernandel from giving the film his best shot.  Si ça peut vous faire plaisir is by no means the most distinguished film in his career, but competently directed and ably performed by a likeable cast (Mona Dol and Antonin Berval almost outshine the lead actor), it makes for a more than adequate time waster.

Film Synopsis

In the shop where they sell funeral wreaths, Monsieur Viala and his wife are celebrating their silver wedding anniversary.  Noticing a young woman at the window, Viala hastily invites his entourage to go off and play a game of bowls so that he can exchange a few furtive words with his uninvited guest.   Viala's friend Martial Gonfaron is not so easily deceived and guesses correctly that the visitor, Ginette, is one of Viala's lady friends.  Viala wonders what he is to do when he learns that Ginette and he have bought a winning lottery ticket.  He decides to tell the world that it was Martial, not Ginette, who shared the cost of the ticket and is therefore entitled to half of the winnings.  How could such a brilliant scheme go so horribly wrong...?