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
- 1931
Paris Beguin finds Parisian cinema star Jean Gabin playing a familiar role, that of the martyred criminal with a golden heart. A burglar by profession, Jean forces his way into an apartment one night. While he's ransacking the joint, the resident unexpectedly returns. It turns out to be a nightclub singer Jane Diamand, and in a wonderful scene they move from cagey opponents to one-time lovers. On the following day, Jean is arrested by the police for a murder, one that he did not commit. Jane graciously supplies him with an alibi but is forced to say that Jean spent the night with her maid. This gets back to Jean's longtime girlfriend, who, in an act apropos jealousy, takes out a contract on Jean with the real killers. Jean runs, but they eventually catch up with him and he dies held in Jane's arms. Paris Beguin is a dark atmospheric crime film typical of this period of French B movie production. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin
