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
- 1934
French writer/director Marcel Pagnol didn't do much editing when he transferred Jean Glono's excessively long novel Angele to film. Orane Demaziz plays the title role, an innocent country girl who becomes a Parisian streetwalker thanks to a smooth-talking pimp. Angele's father fetches her back to the farm, forcibly locking the girl and her newborn baby in his cellar. Her faithful rustic boyfriend rescues Angele, and together the two attempt to escape for a new life. But Angele still loves her father and returns home, whereupon daddy does an about-face and welcomes her with open arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orane Demazis, Fernandel, (more)
- 1933
L'Odonnance (The Orderly) is based on the Guy de Maupassant story of the same name. After the sudden and unexpected suicide of his wife Helene (Marcelle Chantal), a grief-stricken Colonel (Jean Worms) comes into possession of a letter left behind by his wife. In flashback, the audience is apprised of the events leading up to Helene's demise. It seems that in the Colonel's absence, Helene entered into a brief affair with a young lieutenant (Claude Lehmann). This indiscretion was witnessed by Phillipe (Alexandre Rignault), the Colonel's orderly, who demands a great deal of money to keep his mouth shut. Phillipe's villainy reaches its summit when he takes advantage of the lieutenant's absence by offering himself as Helene's lover -- again threatening to reveal all to the Colonel if Helene does not accede to his wishes. Unable to withstand the shame, Helene drowns herself. Upon being apprised of all the facts, the Colonel takes matters in his own hands, bringing Philippe's blackmailing career to a violent end. L'Odonnance was a remake of a 1921 film, also directed by Victor Tourjansky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Paulette Dubost, (more)
- 1932
Every so often, director Maurice Tourneur recharged his creative batteries with such trifles as Gaietes de L'Escadron. The title translates as Fun in the Barracks -- and yes, it is a military comedy. Based on the popular stage play by Georges Courteline, the story centers upon the relationship between easygoing cavalry captain Raimu and obstreperous non-commissioned officer Camus. Eventually, the pompous Camus is made to look like an idiot in front of the General, much to the delight of the long-suffering conscripts under his command. The remarkably stellar supporting cast includes Fernandel as a dimwitted enlistee and Jean Gabin as a habitual slacker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Roussell, Mady Berry, (more)
- 1931
Also known as Le Rosier de Mme. Husson, He is based on a story by Guy De Maupassant. The story takes place in a tiny French village, where every year a cash prize is awarded the most virtuous girl in town. Alas, virtue is so rare a commodity that the villagers are compelled to select a boy as their prize-winner. The lad chosen is horse-faced Fernandel, who upon winning the honor almost instantly disqualifies himself at the local brothel. Cut by nearly two reels for its American release, He emerged in a rather ragged 55-minute form, with crude English-language dubbing provided to gloss over the more censurable aspects of the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Mady Berry, (more)
- 1931
Sacha Guitry wrote the play on which Le Blanc et le Noir was based, but it was Hollywood-trained Robert Florey who officially handled the directorial reins. While vacationing in the mountains, child-hating Raimu leaves his wife Suzanne Dantes alone in their hotel room while he dallies with the local maidens. Feeling neglected, Dantes accepts the invitation of her neighbor, a celebrated tenor, for a nocturnal rendezvous. She enters the tenor's darkened room, whereupon she enjoys an evening of purple passion with a man whom she assumes is her host. Nine months later, however, Dantes gives birth to a black child -- her lover of the evening had been the tenor's capricious servant! The flustered Raimu scurries about trying to set things right, and in so doing finds out that he genuinely loves children -- whereupon he declares he'd like to become a daddy himself (one can only imagine that Dantes by this time has developed quite a headache). Though racy and risque, Le Blanc et le Noir remains firmly within the bounds of good taste. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Also known as Lilac, this early Anatole Litvak-directed talkie was based on a play by Tristan Bernard and Charles Henry Hirsch. The story bears traces of the Bertold Brecht-Weill piece The Threepenny Opera, with heroine Lilac (Marcelle Romeo) consorting with the criminal scum of Paris. Lilac falls in love with a handsome detective (Andre Luguet), but he doesn't let his emotions stand in the way of his duty, and in the end he reluctantly turns her over to the authorities. At $120,000, Coeur de Lilas was one of the most expensive movies to come out of France in 1931, but it more than made back its cost at the box-office. Jean Gabin makes an early screen appearance as "The Tough." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- André Luguet, Marcelle Romee, (more)
