Le Blanc et le noir (1931)
Directed by Marc Allégret, Robert Florey

Film Review

This instantly engaging four-act farce was written by Sacha Guitry and directed by Robert Florey after his first stint in Hollywood.  Its significance to many film enthusiasts lies in the fact that it features two French actors who would come to great prominence in the following decades - established stage actor Raimu and an unknown vaudeville comedian Fernandel.  Despite being on screen for barely five minutes, the latter manages to leave his mark on the film - such is his charisma that you could easily mistake him for the star of the film.  The actual star of the piece is of course Raimu, an actor who is better known for straight roles than comedy, although here he puts in a terrific comic performance.

The film must have been pretty daring for its time - a plot centred on an interracial coupling would have been unthinkable in Hollywood and must have raised more than a few eyebrows in France.  The situation - the wife of a respectable man being impregnated by a Negro singer - offers a rich vein of comedy which Guitry takes great pleasure in mining.  Whilst the film may now appear somewhat unsophisticated and overly theatrical, it nonetheless still has great entertainment value, providing a rather good example of the kind of social satire that was so popular in its day.

Film Synopsis

Marcel and Marguerite Desnoyers are staying in a hotel on the Spanish border.  After a row with her husband, Marguerite is convinced he is being unfaithful to her.  So, whilst he is away on a business engagement, she decides to spend a night with a total stranger.  Hearing a tenor singing a beautiful air, she invites him to her darkened bedroom, not realising that he is black.  Nine months later, the Desnoyers couple are expecting their first child.  Marcel is in for something of a shock…