Saturnin Fabre

Lantern-jawed French comedian Fernandel plays a dual role in Most Wanted Man. He stars as an ordinary Joe (or ordinary Pierre, perhaps) who is the exact double of a notorious gangster. In the tradition of Edward G. Robinson's The Whole Town's Talking, Fernandel must take the place of the criminal, and vice versa. The toughest hurdle in the charade is fooling the gangster's mistress "Mademoiselle", played by Zsa Zsa Gabor (who unlike Fernandel has trouble playing one role). Eventually Zsa Zsa takes a liking to the "nice" Fernandel and helps him collar the rest of the crooks. Most Wanted Man was first released in the U.S. as Most Wanted Man in the World; it was initially screened in France in 1953 as L'Ennemi Public No. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Holiday for Henrietta (originally released in 1952 as La Fete a Henriette) is a Pirandellian comedy about the art of moviemaking. Louis Seigner and Henri Cremieux play a team of screenwriters whose latest project is stuck in a mire of indecision. Should fictional heroine Henriette (Dany Robin) be permitted a happy ending as the romantic Seigner insists, or suffer an unhappy one as "film noir" specialist Cremieux demands? While the screenwriters hash out their contrasting points of view, we see a film-within-a-film, dramatizing the formulating screenplay and its abrupt changes of mood and direction. Finally reaching a compromise, the writers are interrupted by one of the actors in their imaginary movie, who informs them that their "original" plot has already been filmed! When Hollywood got hold of Holiday for Henrietta, it pumped up this modest project into a bloated star vehicle for Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, titled Paris When It Sizzles (63). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Scandals of Clochemerie proved that Hollywood filmmakers had no monopoly so far as poking fun at the movie industry is concerned. This French effort is a glorious lampoon of the "typical" Gallic film, complete with broadly caricatured characters and deliberately exaggerated cliches. Adapted by Gabriel Chevalier from his own novel, the film revolves around the construction of a comfort station in the village of Clochemerie. This momentous undertaking has serious ramifications on the community, not least of which is the exposure of several family skeletons. The film ran into censorship trouble in the States, not just because of its erotic content and occasional religious satire, but also because, at base, the film is about an open-air toilet facility. Originally released in France in 1947 as Clochemerie, the film proved an enormous success during its initial run; as such, it was the last truly profitable venture from veteran filmmaker Pierre Chenal, once the darling of the Parisian critics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marcel Carne's 1946 production La Porte de la Nuit was released in the U.S. four years later as Gates of the Night. Scripted by Carne's longtime collaborator Jacques Prevert, the film is set in Paris just after its liberation from the Nazis. The script points out that this was not only a time for rejoicing, but a period of guilt and remorse, especially for those who cooperated with the Nazis, overtly or otherwise. In one of his first starring roles, Yves Montand plays a former member of the French underground who carries on a furtive romance with the wife (Nathalie Nattier) of a wealthy man. Others essential to the action are Sergi Reggiani as a snivelly informer and Christian Simon as a ubiquitous (and obviously symbolic) street musician. A box-office disappointment in France, Gates of the Night did somewhat better abroad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Maurice Cloche's sole cinematic contribution of 1946 was Jeux de Femmes. Jacques Dumesnil stars as a carefree young man, living in exquisite sin with the lovely Mila Parely. But upon learning that his rich uncle will cut him out of his will if he doesn't marry, Dumesnil frantically searches about for an appropriate wife, leaving Parely in the lurch (which doesn't seem to bother her too much). Our hero's friends publicize Dumesnil's impending marriage to Helen Perdiere, who supposedly has been provided as an "instant wife" by an employment agent. Naturally, boy and girl fall in love on their own, without his friends' well-meaning intervention. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Returning to films after a six-year absence, French director Raymond Bernard called the shots on Un Ami Viendra Ce Soir (A Friend Will Come Tonight). Michel Simon heads the cast of this pulse-pounding WWII resistance film, set surprisingly in an insane asylum. In truth, the establishment is but a front for anti-Nazi underground activities; after all, who would suspect a group of lunatics? Some of the scenes in which the French patriots feign insanity to throw the Nazis off the track may seem a bit ludicrous to American viewers, but director Bernard makes up for these off-kilter moments with a thrilling finale. Un Ami Viendra ce Soir works on a pure-entertainment level, but it isn't nearly as good as La Bataille du Rails, Rene Clement's definitive French Underground drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled La Nuit Fantastique, this French romantic farce was filmed in 1942, during the Nazi occupation. Little did the Germans suspect that star Fernand Gravey was spending his "leisure" time serving with the French Secret Army on behalf of the Resistance. In the film, Gravey plays a medical student, while the luscious Michelene Presle is the girl of his dreams. In fact, it is during one of his dreams that he rescues the girl from a Byzantine plot to rob her of her fortune. It's hardly surprising that French audiences would respond to escapist fare like this while the Germans patrolled their streets outside the theater. Fantastic Night finally received U.S. bookings in 1949, by which time Michelene Presle was preparing to make her first Hollywood film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The inimitable Raimu heads the cast of the frothy farce Monsieur Brotoneau. Known for his infallible punctuality, bank president Brontoneau (Raimu) causes a panic when he shows up 45 minutes late. When Brontoneau reveals that his tardiness was due to discovering his wife in bed with her lover, his faithful secretary Louise (Josette Day) is most sympathetic. Thus encouraged, Brontoneau allows his wife to go her own way and settles down to a hopefully blissful romantic relationship with Louise. All this changes when the wife's lover tires of her and she tearfully returns to Brontoneau, begging forgiveness. The banker is all for remaining with Louise, but his employees, shocked at such impropriety, try to arrange a reconciliation between Monsieur and Madame Brotoneau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide