Fernand Charpin Movies
With all the hue and cry over Raimu's brilliant performances in Marcel Pagnol's Marseilles Trilogy of 1930-1935 (Marius, Fanny, Cesar), it has sometimes been forgotten that Fernand Charpin was equally superb in those three films. The well-fed Charpin was cast as Honore Panisse, the affable middle-aged sailmaker who marries the pregnant Fanny (Orane Demazis) when she's deserted by the irresponsible Marius (Pierre Fresnay). In much the same vein, Charpin went on to appear in Pagnol's The Baker's Wife and The Well-Digger's Daughter. A consummate actor who could switch from comedy to pathos and back again with seamless grace, Fernand Charpin died all too soon at the age of 57. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1942
Le Voile Bleu is a tear-stained "perservering through the years" drama starring Gaby Morlay. During WW1, Red Cross nurse Louise (Morlay) loses her soldier-husband in battle. Shortly thereafter, her newborn baby dies. Once she's come to terms with her grief, Louise vows to devote her life to caring for other people's children, which she does for the next four decades at great personal sacrifice. The fruits of her selfless efforts are revealed at the climax, when several of Louise's grown-up charges gather to honor their surrogate mother in a glorious "family" reunion. The Blue Veil was remade in Hollywood in 1952, with Jane Wyman in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1941
The Well-Digger's Daughter served to reunite star Raimu and writer/director Marcel Pagnol, who'd earlier scored an international hit with the "Marseilles trilogy" (Fanny, Marius, Cesar). The title character played by Josette Day, is impregnated by aviator George Gray. Her father, Raimu, orders Josette out of the house so that her younger sisters won't be likewise "corrupted". There's many a moment of pathos and hilarity before Raimu realizes the folly of his behavior. Filmed in 1940, just after France's acquiescence to their Nazi conquerors, The Well-Digger's Daughter didn't make it to the US until 1946. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Josette Day, (more)
- 1940
WW2 seems light years away in the French romantic comedy They Met on Skis. Directed by Henri Sokai, a past master of "mountain" films, the story is set in the French Alps in late 1939. A rivalry between two elderly innkeepers seriously threatens the romance between their respective offspring, Helene (Wissia Dina) and Michael (Henri Presles). After a while, however, no one really cares about the plot, what with the gorgeous female members of the Paris Ski Club cavorting before the cameras. Also adding to the box-office appeal of They Met on Skis is an extended guest appearance by Louis Agnel, French ski-racing champion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
No less a literary luminary than Jean Anouilh was responsible for the dialogue exchanges in Les Otages (The Hostages). Set during WWI, the film takes place in a tiny French village, occupied by the Germans. When an enemy officer is killed, five villagers are taken hostage, sentenced to execution if the guilty party does not come forward. Through an incredible coincidence, one of the hostages is town mayor Charpin, who not only knows the killer's identity, but is also an accessory after the fact. A rather abrupt deux ex machina provides the film with a happy ending, especially for young lovers Jean Paqui and Annie Vernay, whose forbidden rendezvous precipitated the killing in the first place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Vernay, Mady Berry, (more)
- 1939
Originally Tourbillon de Paris, this film details the misadventures of a group of French military-school students. The plot is merely an excuse to showcase the considerable talents of bandleader Ray Ventura and his orchestra, most of whom play students so as to justify their presence in the film. After getting in and out of one scrape after another, the students redeem themselves by landing a contract as nightclub performers. Corpulent comic actor Charpin provides acting relief as a pompous headmaster, who deals as best as he can with his unruly charges. The best way to sum up Whirlwind of Paris is to imagine an American film in which Benny Goodman and his orchestra play West Point cadets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Jordan, Ray Ventura, (more)
- 1938
Le Schpountz (Heartbeat) stars Fernandel as a feckless country boy named Saturnin. Convinced that he's a great lover (if only he could find someone to love), Saturnin is derisively labelled a "schpountz" by his friends and neighbors. He eventually proves that he's got a lot more compassion than anyone around him when his stepsister Angele (Orane Demaxis) returns home in disgrace with an illegitimate child in tow. "Le Schpountz" also surprises one and all when he makes good in the French movie industry! Director Marcel Pagnol uses the plot of this bucolic comedy drama to mercilessly drub his producers and their often questionable methods of raising production money. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Orane Demazis, (more)
- 1938
Maurice Cloche's second directorial effort was Le Petit Chose, released in the U.S. as The Little Thing. Based on a novel by Alphonse Daudet, the film stars Robert Lynen and Jean Marcaton as two brothers. While Marcaton is sober and sensible, Lynen is a poetic dreamer. Forced to make his way in the cold cruel world, Lynen attempts to adopt his brother's level-headedness, but it all goes out the window when he falls in love with pretty Janine Darcy. The film's best performance is delivered by Charpin as a furrow-browed porcelain manufacturer. Almost as good is Arletty as a worldly courtesan and Le Vigan as a flamboyant fencing instructor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arletty, Fernand Charpin, (more)
- 1938
The Baker's Wife (La Femme de Boulanger), though based on a novel by Jean Giono, was specially tailored by writer/director Marcel Pagnol for the talents of the incomparable Raimu. The star plays the new baker in the French community of Provence. One of Raimu's first customers is shepherd Charles Moulin, who is immediately smitten by the middle-aged baker's young, toothsome wife Ginette LeClerc. In short order, Ginette runs off with Moulin, a turn of events that the stubborn Raimu refuses to acknowledge. As he grows more taciturn, he neglects his work, and soon the whole village anxiously awaits the wife's return, else they'll never see another loaf of bread. The local Marquis (Charpin) takes matters in hand by leading the townsfolk in a search party for the wayward wife. The charms of The Baker's Wife are both captivating and fragile; an attempt in 1976 to turn the property into a Broadway musical proved the fragility by ignoring the charm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Ginette Leclerc, (more)
Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin) is a well-known criminal mastermind who eludes the French police by hiding in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows he is safe in this labyrinthine netherworld, where he is surrounded by his fellow thieves and cutthroats. Police inspector Slimane (Lucas Gridoux), who has developed a grudging respect for Pepe, bides his time, waiting for Pepe to try to leave the Casbah. When Gaby Gould (Mirielle Balin), a Parisian tourist, falls in love with Pepe, the inspector hopes to use this relationship to his advantage. He tells Gaby that Pepe has been killed, knowing that the heartbroken girl will return to Paris -- and that Pepe will risk everything to go after her. The French Pepe le Moko was remade in the US as Algiers, which followed the original so slavishly (except for changing its ending) that the American producers were able to utilize generous amounts of stock footage from the French film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, (more)
