Un oiseau rare (1935)
Directed by Richard Pottier

Film Review

Before he began his fruitful partnership with Marcel Carné with Jenny (1936), a precursor to the poetic realist masterpieces they would make together, the writer Jacques Prévert lent his talents to a handful of pretty nondescript comedies, of which Un oiseau rare is probably the most entertaining.  Those familiar with Prévert's subsequent, doom-laden offerings, will be taken by surprise by this frivolous little comedy, which uses the well-worn device of a case of mistaken identity as a pretext for an amusing social satire.  This was one of the first films to be directed by Richard Pottier, who like Prévert, would gravitate to darker subjects in later years - Picpus (1943) and Meurtres (1950) being two of his best films - but for most of his career he stuck with more popular fare, comedies and musicals, many featuring singing legends Tino Rossi and Luis Mariano.

The inspiration for the film came from Erich Kästner's 1934 novel Drei Männer im Schnee (Three Men in the Snow), which has been adapted for cinema several times, the best-known version being Edward Buzzell's American film Paradise for Three (1938), which starred Robert Young and Mary Astor.  Prévert and Pottier turn Kästner's quirky novel into an exuberant if somewhat predictable farce, which gave rising star Pierre Brasseur ample opportunity to flex his comedy muscle in such distinguished company as Max Dearly, Pierre Larquey and Jean Tissier - a more likeable bunch of eccentrics you could not wish for.  The mistaken identity and eccentric millionaire plot devices are clunky contrivances that date the film badly but the plethora of comic situations, played to maximum comedic effect by a superb ensemble, make up for this at least threefold.  Un oiseau rare is a cut above most French comedies of this time and, because it doesn't take itself at all seriously, it is one of Pottier's more palatable films.

Film Synopsis

Melleville, the reclusive boss of a multinational company, is surprised when his valet, Valentin, wins first prize in a competition to come up with the best slogan to market a range of lamps.  The prize is a holiday at a luxury hotel in an alpine ski resort and Melleville insists on accompanying his valet, passing himself off as a man of modest means.  Jean Berthier, the young man who won the second prize, also wins a holiday in the same hotel, but is mistaken for an eccentric millionaire.  Whilst Melleville is treated with contempt by the hotel staff, who are blissfully unaware that he is their employer, Berthier receives the full V.I.P. treatment.  Melleville decides enough is enough when he discovers that his daughter has fallen for Berthier...