Au bonheur des dames (1943) - film review

Paris, towards the end of the 19th century.  Baudu, an ageing shopkeeper, is none too pleased when a new department store opens on his doorstep and starts stealing his clientele.  He responds to the taunts of his competitor, Mouret, by updating his shop and lowering his prices.  When this fails, Baudu mobilises his fellow shopkeepers to defy Mouret and sends his niece, Denise, to work as a sales assistant for his rival.  Fate, however, doesn’t seem to be on Baudu’s side...

This strange mix of farce and social drama, based on a novel by Emile Zola, would appear to be an unlikely film to come out of the studios of Continental Films, the German-run company which dominated the French film industry during the years of Occupation.  Sympathetic, individualistic shopkeepers uniting to resist an unwelcome outsider, in the guise of a faceless department store?   The Nazi censors were either obviously sure of themselves, had no idea what a metaphor was, or else were totally indifferent to what films Continental put out, otherwise it is hard to see how such a film, with its blatant allegorical overtones, could have seen the light of day.

The film was directed by André Cayatte, a former lawer who would become an outspoken advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, amongst other socially important issues.  Whilst Au bonheur des dames may appear pretty trivial compared with some of Cayatte’s later films, it does have more than a hint of social conscience behind it, and the plight of small local shopkeepers losing out to large retailers remains a major social concern.  Although somewhat weak on characterisation, the film is competently made and features some pleasing performances from its stars, Michel Simon, Albert Préjean and Suzy Prim.

© James Travers 2003

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