Fernandel Movies
Born Fernand Joseph Desire Contandin, Fernandel was a great French comedy star with a long, toothy face and a shy manner. The son of a music-hall entertainer, he began performing while still a child; in his teens he supported himself in a variety of jobs while gaining experience as an amateur comedian and singer. In 1922 he turned professional, soon becoming popular in vaudeville, operettas, and music-hall revues. He debuted onscreen in 1930, going on to perform in many minor films before becoming very popular with his serious role in the screen adaptation of Maupassant's Le Rosier de Madame Husson (1932). For the next four decades he was France's top comedic actor, giving more than 100 comic performances onscreen; occasionally he also had dramatic roles. He was perhaps best-loved for his portrayal of the humorously indomitable, eccentric priest at war with the town's communist mayor in the "Don Camillo" series. Also popular outside of France, he occasionally appeared in Italian and American productions; his first Hollywood film was Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) in which he played David Niven's coachman. Fernandel also directed or co-produced a few of his own films. ~ All Movie Guide- 1969
Antonin (Fernandel) works on a farm and takes care of the animals in this sentimental comedy. When his boss tells him his favorite old horse has been sold, he takes off with the animal. His goal is to release the horse to run free in the South of France. Antonin runs across a rival who has married a girl he once loved and discovers the woman is scolding, bitchy and evil tempered. He and his equine companion finally make it to freedom, but the horse loves Antonin are tries to follow him home from the swamp. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Beloved French comic Fernadel displays his flair for the dramatic in this somber drama. Quantin (Fernadel) is a mild-mannered husband whose wife Isabelle (Lilli Palmer) constantly bothers him for not having enough money to spend on their daughters. When the eldest daughter is unable to come home for her birthday, Quantin and a young teacher go to the city to bring her home for the celebration. It is there he discovers that his beloved daughter has become a prostitute. His daughter is never shown on camera as the father and the teacher who loves her painfully discover her sordid secret. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Lilli Palmer, (more)
- 1965
Don Camillo (Fernandel) is a priest who travels to Moscow in this comedy culture clash. Don accompanies his archival communist mayor Peppone (Gino Cervi) and his wife (Leda Gloria) on a goodwill trip to the Soviet Union, and the priest is helped by the beautiful guide Nadia (Graziella Granata). Faithful fans of Fernandel and the Don Camillo series should not be disappointed. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Gino Cervi, (more)
- 1964
Emile (Jean Gabin) and his family travel to the South of France to meet the parents of the man who is to marry his daughter in this family comedy drama. Adelphe (Fernandel) tries to ease the visitors from Paris into the more laid-back life of the South. The two future fathers-in-law slowly becomes friends before a lover's quarrel between their children threatens to jeopardize the upcoming marriage of Antoine (Frank Fernandel) and Marie (Marie Dubois). The two fathers eventually resolve their differences as do their offspring. Paulette Dubost plays the mother, with Neol Roquevert as the tourist. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Jean Gabin, (more)
- 1963
There is nothing especially exceptional about this comedy-drama which focuses on a certain Guillaume (Fernandel) who lives in a small town and is beset by a series of changing circumstances. He is the stationmaster for the town and becomes more than a little worried when the one train that is scheduled to stop here each day is in danger of being cancelled. On top of that, his son finally returns home after a long absence and seems to be intent on marrying a woman from the city. But these worries are offset a little when the son takes an interest in a local lass and Guillaume has a few strokes of good luck. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Filmmaker Julien Duvivier returns to the multistoried format of his earlier omnibus films Tales of Manhattan and Flesh and Fantasy with the 1962 French production The Devil and the Ten Commandments. Actually, there are only seven separate episodes in the film, covering such commandments as "Thou Shalt Not Have Any Gods Before Me", "Thou Shalt Not Steal" and "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother." Each of the vignettes seems to owe more to O. Henry or DeMaupassant than the Book of Exodus, with twist endings carrying the day. The all-star cast includes Michel Simon (Episode One), Dany Saval (Episode Two), Charles Aznavour and Lino Ventura (Episode Three), Micheline Presle, Mel Ferrer and Claude Dauphin (Episode Four); Fernandel (Episode Five); Alain Delon and Danielle Darrieux (Episode Six) and Jean-Claude Brialy (Episode Seven). Best of the batch is the fifth episode, wherein horse-faced Fernandel declares that he is God. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Simon, Françoise Arnoul, (more)
- 1961
Fernandel plays a most unlikely western bandit in the French spoof Dynamite Jack. Actually, the horse-faced comedian essays a dual role. He is seen as a rough-n-touch gunfighter and as a bumbling French immigrant. Inevitably, the two personalities are confused, leading to no end of slapstick complications. Dynamite Jack is an amusing enough novelty, though it hardly represents Fernandel at his best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Eleonora Vargas, (more)
- 1961
Famed French comic Fernandel cannot do much for this uninspired mystery story with intended comedic overtones by director Leo Joannon. Fernandel plays Albert, the unhappy brunt of jokes by his fellow office-workers who goes from the frying pan into the fire. Albert gets caught up in a robbery that also goes from bad to worse when it leads to several murders. Although he is not a killer and essentially innocent, there does not seem to be very much that Albert can do to convince others of the truth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Maurice Teynac, (more)
- 1961
An episodic, funny, though uneven spoof of human manners and foibles, this comedy by Vittorio de Sica begins in Naples when a disembodied voice announces to the city's residents "The Last Judgment will begin at 6:00 p.m." Naturally, not all are immediately willing to accept this statement -- but not for long. As comic vignettes unfold, the good citizens soon become even better as they try to undo past and present sins, just in case. There is a long list of top actors that show up briefly in the story, everyone from Alberto Sordi to Jimmy Durante, Melina Mercouri, Anouk Aimée, Vittorio Gassmann, and many, many others. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Renato Rascel, (more)
- 1960
This is a routine comedy by novice director and novelist Jean Giono about Jules (Fernandel) a wily French peasant who dallies with a local widow and enjoys spats with his fellow sheepherders. One day he comes across a hidden stash of money and throws a party for all his friends, making them jealous over his newfound fortune. Then he plays a worse trick on them by handing over the money to everyone, confounding their assumptions about their entrenched rivalry. In the end, Jules has the last laugh, because a close look at the currency reveals a startling new fact that sheds light on his strange behavior. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Between 1951 and 1972 Bernard Borderie directed many "B"-grade films, and this low-budget, rapidly made comedy is one of them. Fernandel stars as Migonnet, a philosophy instructor who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He unintentionally ends up with the loot from a high-end robbery when the escaping thief needs somewhere to dump the evidence. The problem is that his newfound windfall is no secret from the underworld, and before he knows it, Migonnet is being chased by an assortment of greedy criminal elements. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Barbara Laage, (more)
- 1960
This musical performance features the streets of Paris and the girls of the French Can-Can. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1958
French filmmaker Sacha Guitry had intended to direct as well as write 3DLa Vie a Deux3D (3DLife as a Couple3D), but death claimed him before he could bring his plan to fruition. Adapted from Guitry's original by Jean Martin and directed by Clement Duhor, the film offers an all-star cast in a series of seriocomic anecdotes. The narrative is tied together by a millionaire novelist (based on Guitry himself), who on his deathbed wants to bequeath his fortune to several married couples upon whom he'd based one of his books. The proviso is that the couples must have remained happily wed to claim their money. The millionaire's family anxiously hire private detectives to prove that the couples in question are not only unhappy, but shameless philanderers in the bargain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1958
Fernandel plays a French customs sergeant who conducts an ongoing war of nerves with Italian smuggler Toto on the Franco-Italian border. The French sergeant discovers that, through a long-ago hospital mix-up, he is actually an Italian citizen. Now Fernandel is legally prevented from arresting Toto--and to make matters worse, he is the lawbreaker in Italian eyes because of his divorce and remarriage! The publicity attending the long-anticipated teaming of France's favorite funnyman Fernandel (born Fernand Joseph Desire Contandin) and his Italian counterpart Toto (born Antonio de Curtis Gagliardi Ducas Comneno di Bisanzio) helped to make The Law Is the Law one of the most successful films in both comedians' careers. The film, incidentally, was a French production (originally titled La Loi c'est la Loi), so in fact it was Toto, not Fernandel, who was the "alien." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The French-filmed Senechal the Magnificent is set during World War II. Fernandel plays a none-too-intelligent travelling entertainer who, through a case of mistaken identity, takes the place of a famed nightclub artiste named Senechal. Fernandel's gift for mimicry makes him a big hit in Paris; however, he spends most of his time looking over his shoulder, hoping the real Senechal never shows up. When the time comes to outwit the occupying Nazi troops, Fernandel's skill at impressions becomes a life-or-death commodity. Senechal le Magnifique was (surprise!) the original French title for this Danny Kaye-like comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Le Confident de ces Dames is a wacky though uneven comedy held up by the talents of Fernandel, playing a veterinarian. The vet's life is turned around completely when he finds himself assisting a woman who has been injured in an accident. He pulls the woman through the worst of the crisis and later, when the news gets out to all the media, he becomes a major hero. The woman, it turns out, is a well-known actress. Other women latch onto his name and, impressed by his deed, start flocking to him in droves to seek his help. The lowly veterinarian with his background in animal medicine is hardly equipped to handle female complaints -- and that is only one part of a few more adventures waiting in the wings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Denise Grey, (more)
- 1958
Henri (Fernandel) returns to his homeland after spending several years abroad. Staying with a wealthy friend, he finds his friend is involved with a woman. The woman turns out to be Henri's former lover, and sparks rekindle between them. However, the flame goes out when Henri embarks on a harmless drunken escapade. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Pierre Dux, (more)
- 1957
Horse-faced farceur Fernandel is definitely not the title character in the Franco-Spanish spoof Don Juan. Like Bob Hope in Casanova's Big Night, our hero is merely the servant of the the legendary Latin lover. To save Don Juan from political intrigue, Fernandel disguises himself as his boss, with results that are both hilariously predictable and uproariously unexpected. The sexiest of this ersatz Don Juan's amours is played by Carmen Sevila. Don Juan was directed by John Berry, a Hollywood helmsman who was forced by the Blacklist to work in Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
