Auguste (1961) - film review

Modest bank clerk Auguste Roussel finds himself on the front page of every news paper in the land when, one day, he jumps into the Seine to save a young woman from drowning.  Unbeknown to him, the woman in question is aspiring film star and publicity seeker Françoise, a.k.a. Marylyn Wood, who was staging a fake suicide and rescue attempt to earn herself a place on the cover of a glossy magazine.   Her agent, the Machiavellian publicist Flauvert, decides to use Auguste’s newfound fame to their mutual advantage…

Popular comic actor Fernand Raynaud gives an ebullient performance in this light-hearted satire on the cult of the celebrity and art of media manipulation – and is just as relevant today (perhaps more so) than it was when the film was made.  Some of the jokes and situations are a tad predictable, but the comedy is generally well played, with some memorable contributions from Jean Poiret (the scheming publicist) and the delightful Fernand Raynaud.

© James Travers 2006

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