Sacha Guitry Movies
The son of Parisian stage star Lucien Guitry, Sacha Guitry was born and raised in pre-Czarist Russia. A restless youth, Guitry attended some dozen schools before finally completing his education at 17. That same year, Guitry wrote the first of his 120 plays, most of them vehicles for his own considerable performing skills. In 1915, Guitry wrote, directed and photographed an obscure silent-movie short subject, Ceux de chez Nous; three years later, he acted before the cameras for the first time. Throughout the 1920s, Guitry resisted films, feeling that they could not do full justice to his gift for dialogue and characterization. Though he would act in and write a brace of early talkies, he did not direct his first feature, Bonne chance, until 1935. Guitry was so much the renaissance man that one is tempted to label him the French Orson Welles; in truth, he was more the French Preston Sturges, exhibiting a firmer grasp of dialogue than a flair for visuals. Remaining in Paris during the occupation, Guitry was forbidden by the Nazis to act on stage; ironically, once the Germans were booted from Paris, Guitry spent two months in prison on a collaboration charge. Guitry devoted his last decade to turning out some rather ponderous historical spectacles, few of which exhibited the wit or sophistication of his best plays. Sacha Guitry was married four times; each of his wives was an actress, but only wife #2, Yvonne Printemps, became a star in her own right. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
Philippe de Morannes has an agreement with his girlfriend, the well-known actress Paulette Nanteuil. Either one of them can sleep with someone else if they give their partner a day's notice. In the six years they have been living together, this agreement has not been an issue. Philippe is researching a book about Carl Herickson, an international screen star. One day, while waiting in the star's suite for him to return, he encoutners Claudine, a friend of Paulette's who is a journalist doing an interview of the star. In the midst of a mild but very witty flirtation with her, the star arrives, and expresses a wish to see a local theatrical performance. Hardly thinking about it, he recommends his wife's current play. In a series of misadventures, the film star and the stage star wind up sleeping together. The next day, Philippe and Paulette have a heated and funny discussion about who was unfaithful to whom. This comedy is a remake of the 1938 film Quadrille, by Sacha Guitry. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Valérie Lemercier, André Dussollier, (more)
- 1996
This sumptuous French drama offers episodes from the notorious life of 18th century socialite and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. The story begins in the 1770s with a rehearsal of his "The Barber of Seville." Young friend of Voltaire, Philipp Gudin introduces himself to the great playwright and offers to become his personal secretary. He then becomes the adventurous Beaumarchais' keeper as the author gets involved in a variety of situations including a duel with an angry husband, his battle with the corrupt French government and a serious long-term affair with Marie-Theres de Willer. It all comes to a climax when King Louis XV assigns the playwright a secret mission to London. There he must find and retrieve a damning document from transvestite aristocrat Chevalier D'Eon. Unfortunately, Beaumarchais gets tangled up with supporting American rebels and ends up tossed in jail. Louis XVI sees that he is finally released and then the writer becomes an arms smuggler for American revolutionaries. All of his activities bankrupt him and so Beaumarchais must return to writing plays. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fabrice Luchini, Manuel Blanc, (more)
- 1996
- R
Based on a play by Sacha Guitry this romantic French comedy of manners sparkles and bubbles like freshly uncorked champagne. Set in Paris before the dawn of the Jazz Age and centers on the exploits of sexy, womanizing butler Désiré after he begins working for former actress and current mistress of noted local politico Montignac. For the summer, Désiré and the rest of the staff move the entire household to the seaside town of Deauville. Désiré inadvertently provides his colleagues with much mid-night entertainment with his loudly-voiced dreams of having sexual congress with the comely Odette. Unbeknownst to him, Odette has similarly enacted dreams about him, something Montignac finds more disturbing than funny. Both sides begin looking to a book that explains erotic dreams and the more they learn, the more uncomfortable they become in each other's presence until at last they decide to see if dreams can indeed become reality. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1957
A film company on location happens to photograph a murder in progress. Ambitious police inspector Bernard (Michel Simon) hopes to advance his career by nabbing the culprit. Unfortunately for Bernard, the murderer closely resembles a set of identical twins! Once Simon finally figures out who's who, a gang of criminals, angered at all the publicity engendered by the case, fix it so that both the criminal and the inspector lose out in the end. A very minor piece, Les Trois Font la Paire (Three Make a Pair) is historically important as the last directorial effort of Sacha Guitry, who died 14 days after the film's premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michel Simon, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1957
Assassins et Voleurs (Killers and Thieves) was the penultimate offering from French filmmaker Sacha Guitry. Though seriously ill and confined to a wheelchair, Guitry was still able to invest a great deal of energy in the project. Surprised by a burglar (Michel Serrault), the doleful Philippe (Jean Poiret) regains his composure, then asks the thief for his assistance. It seems that Philippe wants to commit suicide but hasn't the nerve to pull off the deed himself. In flashback, Philippe recounts the events that led up to this critical and anxious moment. As it turns out, our "hero" is a bigger criminal, both actual and moral, than the nonplused burglar could ever be. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, (more)
- 1956
Producer/director Sacha Guitry's contribution to the 1956 film season was the free-flowing historical pageant Si Paris Nous Etait Conte (If Paris Were Told to Us). Guitry himself appears as the ghost of King Louis XI, who relates the story of Paris to a group of fascinated modern-day students. As usual, Guitry manages to "humanize" history by depicting the great men and women of France in amusing warts-and-all fashion. Symbolizing the indomitable spirit of Paris is Robert Lamoureaux as Latude, a prisoner of the Bastille who repeatedly tries to escape, and just as repeatedly is captured and thrown back in jail. A note of pathos is provided by Jacques de Feraudy as the dying Voltaire. Though Sacha Guitry suffered a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair throughout much of the filming of Si Paris Nous Etait Conte, he still had two more films left in him before his death in 1957--just 10 days after Bastille Day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Jean Marais, (more)
Showing no signs of slowing down in his 70th year, Sacha Guitry served as director and writer of the lavish historical epic Napoleon, and also costarred as Talleyrand. It is now hard to assess the quality of the film, since most American prints are severely edited, and the color photography appallingly washed out. Reviewers in 1955 admired the effort that went into this $1,800,000 production, but complained that the viewer left the film with no deeper understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte than the viewer had had when coming in. Daniel Gelin poses impressively as the young Bonaparte, registering emotion only when things go wrong in his conquest of Europe, while Raymond Pellegrin is somewhat better as the older, more jaded Napoleon (the transition between the two actors is handled in a near-comic fashion). The Revolution is reduced to a few fleeting scenes, while the rest of the film is devoted to political infighting and betrayal. The huge supporting cast includes Michele Morgan as Josephine and Lana Marconi and Dany Robin, respectively, as Napoleon's mistresses Waleska and Desiree. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Raymond Pellegrin, Daniel Gélin, (more)
- 1954
Sacha Guitry's Si Versailles M'Etait Conte (If Versailles Were Told to Me) is best known by its American title Royal Affairs in Versailles. In addtion to writing and directed the film, Guitry reserves for himself the plum role of Louis XIV. Concentrating on the palace of Versailles over a period of 300 years, the storyline concentrates on the various amorous and political intrigues of three French kings. The plot manages to wend its way through the French revolution, coming to a halt in "the present". The star-studded supporting cast includes Jean Marais as Louis XV, Claudette Colbert as Mme. Montespan, Micheline Presle as Mme. Pompadour, and, best of all, Orson Welles as a gouty Ben Franklin. Most currently available prints of Si Versailles M'Etait Conte are severely edited, and fail to do justice to the rich Eastmancolor hues of the original version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1952
La Vie d'un Honnette Homme was the sole 1953 contribution from indefatigable French filmmaker Sacha Guitry, who scripted and directed. Surprisingly, Guitry does not play the film's titular "honest man." Michel Simon essays that role -- or rather, "roles," since Simon plays twin brothers, ant-and-grasshopper types. Secretly, the wealthy and industrious Albert has always envied his carefree brother's lifestyle. When his brother dies, Albert takes his sibling's place, experiencing true happiness for the first time in his life. Despite Albert's duplicity, the film's title is still appropriate: Guitry argues that it's possible to lie to the world so long as you're honest with yourself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marguerite Pierry, Michel Simon, (more)
- 1952
Few American theatres in 1952 would have run Je T'ai ete Trois Fois under its highly suggestive original title, which translates as I Did it Three Times. The film was directed by the inimitable Sacha Guity, who also co-wrote the script and played the leading role of elderly actor Jean Renneval. A notorious roue, Renneval is currently making time with the wife (Lana Marconi) of a ripe-for-cuckolding merchant named Henri (Bernard Blier). Having already been married twice to cheating spouses, Henri isn't psychologically prepared to find his third wife in the arms of Renneval. Fortunately, the aging actor is dressed as a clergyman (the part he's playing in his latest production), and thus is able to wriggle out of an uncomfortable situation by preaching an impromptu sermon about trust and fidelity! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Lana Marconi, (more)
- 1951
Sacha Guitry both wrote and directed the witty black comedy La Poison. This time, however, Guitry does not star in the film, relinquishing that honor to Michel Simon. Through a series of circumstances and plot twists too numerous to mention, an enterprising man (Simon) manages to get away with murdering his wife, even though he cheerfully admits his guilt in court. The murderer's defense strategy is targeted towards every man who has ever wished that his wife would simply disappear. If this notion seems familiar, it is because La Poison was loosely remade in 1966 as the Jack Lemmon comedy How to Murder Your Wife. While the original is more clever, the remake has more popular appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michel Simon, Jean Debucourt, (more)
- 1950
The second of Sacha Guitry's four 1950 offerings was Le Tresor de Cantenac. Once again, Guitry not only wrote and directed the film, but reserved himself a leading role, in this case Baron de Cantenac. Set in a rundown French village where everyone is related to everyone else (sometimes at the expense of chromosomes and brain matter!), the film is a series of vignettes illustrating the foibles of the human condition. The Baron de Cantenac, on the verge of suicide after losing his fortune, decides to take one last journey through the crumbling town. While ambling about, the baron is befriended by the town's oldest citizen, who reveals a royal treasure that he has been jealously guarding for years. The money enables the town to get back on its feet, and also has some very surprising effects on the citizenry. Amazingly, this fully realized paean to the recuperative powers of wealth was made on a skin-tight budget, even by French standards. Le Tresor de Cantenac was produced by Boris Morros, the former Hollywood musical director who'd previously produced Laurel & Hardy's Flying Deuces and Fred Astaire's Second Chorus, and who soon would figure in a real-life espionage adventure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Lana Marconi, (more)
- 1949
As always, French filmmaker Sacha Guitry wore several hats during the making of Toa. Guitry directed the film, wrote the script (from his own stage play), and cast himself in the leading role of playwright Michel Desnoyers. When his jealous mistress leaves him, Desnoyers finds an emotional outlet for his disappointment by writing a play about the situation. On opening night, Desnoyer's ex-lover sits in the audience and disrupts the proceedings. She then pulls a "life imitates art" by repeating the behavior of the play's fictional heroine. All turns out well when it is realized that the whole megillah was based on a silly misunderstanding. As for the title Toa, well, that too is explained towards the end. The film was the third 1949 release for the indefatigable Monsieur Guitry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Lana Marconi, (more)
- 1947
The Private Life of an Actor was the English-language title bestowed upon Sacha Guitry's first postwar feature, Le Comédien. The film recounts the life and loves of Guitry's actor/father Lucien, with Guitry playing both himself and his dad. Most of the story takes place either on-stage or in the dressing room, satirically emphasizing the wide schism between an actor's public and private life. Adding to the Pirandellian ambience of the project is Guitry's wife, Catherine (Lana Marconi), cast as one of Lucien's various mistresses. To fully appreciate the wit and wisdom of Private Life of an Actor, one must be conversant in French. The English-language subtitles don't even try to match the excellence of Guitry's original screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Lana Marconi, (more)
- 1943
Sacha Guitry starred in, and pseudonymously directed, the French romantic melodrama My Last Mistress. Guitry plays sculptor Francoise Bressoles, who falls madly in love with his model Catherine (portrayed by Guitry's real-life wive Genevieve). When his eyesight fails him, Bressoles begins to feel unworthy of Catherine, so he tells her to get out of his life. Love conquers all, but it takes ten reels to do so. Filmed in 1943 as Donne-moi Tes Yeux, My Last Mistress was not released in the U.S. until long after WWII had ended. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Aimé Clariond, (more)
- 1941
Released in 1942 as Les Destin Fabuleux de Desiree Clary, this Sacha Guitry production made it to America six years later as Mlle. Desiree. Based on the romance between Napoleon Bonaparte and merchant's daughter Desiree, the film is divided into two parts. In part one, the younger Napoleon (Jean-Louis Barrault) pledges eternal fidelity to Desiree (Genevieve Guitry), but destiny dictates that he marry the much-older Josephine. Part Two takes place several years later, as Napoleon, now Emperor of France and now played by Sacha Guitry himself, renews his romance with the older-but-wiser Desiree (now portrayed by Gaby Morlay). Mlle. Desiree was later remade, sort of, as Desiree, with Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Sacha Guitry, (more)
- 1940
Lewis Milestone directs the lightweight romantic comedy Lucky Partners, based on a story by Sacha Guitry. David Grant (Ronald Colman) is an artist in New York's Greenwich Village. After he wishes good luck to passing ingenue Jean Newton (Ginger Rogers), she is immediately offered a beautiful dress. Thinking that David is lucky, she agrees to go in with him on a ticket for the Irish Sweepstakes. Their horse wins the race, and he asks her to accompany her to Niagara Falls to celebrate their winnings. Jean's fiancé, Freddie Harper (Jack Carson), is not pleased about the arrangement, so he follows them. Eventually Jean and David fall for each other and they end up in the courthouse, where the judge ($Harry Davenport) sorts everything out in favor of the new couple. Lucky Partners was released in 1940, the same year Rogers gave her Oscar-winning performance in Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1939
Filmmaker Sacha Guitry's only cinematic contribution for 1939 was Ils Etaient Neuf Celibataires, released stateside as There Were Nine Bachelors. Set sometime in the past, the story gets under way when a new law calls for the expulsion of certain foreigners from Paris. Among those slated for deportation is Polish stage star Elvire Popesco. Guitry plays an opportunist who offers to help Popesco remain in France in exchange for her help in a highly suspicious "lonely hearts" scam. Our so-called hero intends to marry off nine elderly bachelors with an equal number of female foreign aliens, so that the latter will be able to declare themselves as French citizens. Naturally, most of the financial proceeds of this venture are to remain in Guitry's possession -- not to mention any female "fringe benefits" picked up along the way. With so complicated and convoluted a plotline, it is little wonder that Sacha Guitry's films seldom imported well, especially when decked out with inadequate English-language subtitles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Elvire Popesco, (more)
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