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French films Comedy
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Having established himself as a director and comic performer in Jour de fête, Jacques Tati won international acclaim with his next film, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot. The film won a brace of awards across the globe, not least of which the Prix de la Critique at Cannes in 1953 and the Prix Louis Delluc 1953. Significantly...
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It has to be said that this is not Jacques Becker’s best film. At worst, it is a pretty bland re-telling of a very familiar fairy tale, with lukewarm comedy, drawn-out dance routines, and a rather tatty ending. However, for all that, the film does show some signs that this is the work of a great director. The action is often fast and fierce...
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Swashbuckling action historicals were hugely popular in France in the 1950s, and André Hunebelle was presumably hoping to capitalise on the success of Christian-Jaque’s 1952 film Fanfan la Tulipe with his own early offering in the genre. Cadet-Rousselle (1954) sees the improbable casting of François Périer as the lead romantic adventurer...
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Fernandel gives not one but six great comic performances in this hilarious comedy from director Henri Verneuil (who is perhaps better known for his crime thriller than burlesque comedies such as this). The film comprises a series of comic instalments, in each of which Fernandel plays a different character, showing both his great versatility and comic flair....
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For this, the third in the series of Franco-Italian Don Camillo films, the directorial baton passed from Julien Duvivier to veteran Italian director Carmine Gallone. Fernandel and Gino Cervi continue to play the roles they had made their own in the previous Don Camillo outings, although both are ill-served by a much weaker script than they had previously enjoyed...
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One of Fernandel’s better comic outings, Honoré de Marseille is tailor-made for the horse-faced comedian and gives him ample opportunity to regale us with his talent for no-nonsense, inoffensive comedy. There are some very funny jokes, and a wonderful piece of slapstick with Francis Blanche. A number of cheerful musical numbers sung by the film’s star also add greatly to...
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The incomparable – and still enormously popular – Fernandel finally finds his match in the form of Suzy Delair in this low-brow but hugely entertaining farce. A popular actor and singer in the 1940s, Suzy Delair has a screen presence that equals that of Fernandel, and it is indeed a rare treat to see two such equally matched comic performers laying into each other with the vigour...
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This lesser-known Fernandel comedy is a respectable remake of the classic Italian 1943 film, Four Steps in the Clouds, set in the south of France. The rich colour photography conveys the stereotypical view of Provence, reminding us (as does the plot) of Marcel Pagnol’s rural dramas of the 1930s and 1940s. With a well-written script...
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Popular comedy actor Noël-Noël gives an ebullient performance in this witty if somewhat run-of-the-mill comedy from the late 1950s. The jokes and plot are painfully predictable, but the film does feature a number of memorable visual gags. The film’s appeal to French film enthusiasts may have more to do with the anarchic contributions from some very talented young actors at...
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Sacha Guitry was on his deathbed when he wrote and directed Assassins et voleurs, his last film. Guitry’s caustic wit and penchant for irony are very much in evidence and whilst the film is not one of his best, it is certainly one of his most entertaining. The film owes much to the enjoyable pairing of Jean Poiret with Michel Serrault...
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In this liberal adaptation of a James Hadley Chase novel, director Julien Duvivier and screenwriter René Barjavel sought to emulate the style of the American and British comedy thrillers, which were then very popular in France. The film’s comic element relies almost entirely on its star, the incomparable Fernandel...
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With its colourful characters, sunny rural setting and distinctive lead actors (Fernandel, Ginette Leclerc and Rellys), Le Chômeur de Clochemerle is immediately evocative of the films of Marcel Pagnol. It is certainly a very different kind of film to the boisterous farces and musical extravaganzas for which director Jean Boyer is best remembered...
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A colourful and whimsical film, Les Aventures d’Arsène Lupin is Jacques Becker’s attempt to shed some light on the mystery of the great hero of French detective fiction from the pen of Maurice Leblanc. The result is a fairly satisfying film in some ways, but the character of Lupin is, if anything, undermined by Becker’s attempt to rationalise his thinking and methods...
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Clearly intended to showcase the talent of its star – the much-loved horse-faced comic actor Fernandel – for playing colourful characters in O.T.T. situations, Sénéchal le magnifique also offers a sobering reflection on the precarious life of the struggling artist. Whilst the plot’s lack of structure makes the film feel aimless and a tad over-long...
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The eternally popular comic actor Fernandel joins forces with his equally famous Italian counterpart, Toto, in this highly enjoyable comedy, one of Fernandel’s better films from the 1950. Part boisterous farce, part satire on the absurdities of Italian and French Law, the film has a wide appeal. Unlike many popular comedies from this era...
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This multi-part film with an impressive star-studied cast lacks the feel of a satisfying whole, but it is so full of magical little moments that that hardly seems to matter. Written by Sacha Guitry, a luminary of French cinema and a distinguished writer in his own right, the film has some sparkling dialogue which is brought to life by some amazing acting talent...
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Five years after Les Vacances de Monsier Hulot proved a major critical success, Jacques Tati and Monsieur Hulot returned to cinema screens across the world in Mon Oncle, a film which proved to be one of the cinematic highlights of 1958. As with Tati’s previous film, Mon Oncle delighted the critics and was a commercial success...
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Director Yves Robert’s second film is this charming adaptation of a popular late 19th Century novella "L’Affaire Blaireau" by Alphonse Allais. The film offers the same engaging portrait of provincial life that we see in the films of Marcel Pagnol and Robert’s later film La Gloire de mon père (1990)...
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Despite the shameful political-incorrectness of its title and some pretty blatant sentimentality, this is an entertaining comedy thriller which achieves a satisfying blend of B-movie gangster fare and slapstick. Probably the most distinguishing feature of this film is that it marks the virtual cinema debut of two acting legends of French cinema: Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo...
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This highly entertaining sentimental comedy provides a veritable conflux for some of the finest talent in French cinema, which includes Bourvil, Arletty, Danielle Darrieux and Jean-Paul Belmondo. All four actors are on fine form and the film itself is a pleasing mélange of drama and comedy, sometimes intensely poignant...
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