Berlingot et compagnie (1939) - film review

François and Victor make a modest living selling homemade sweets at a fun fair.  After they protect a young woman from the unwelcome attentions of a crook, their stall is burnt down in revenge.  The two friends have to find another way to earn money, to feed not just themselves but the baby girl they have adopted.  They soon discover that their only talent is one for messing things up…

Conceived and written as nothing less than a vehicle for popular comic performer Fernandel, this chaotic comedy has retained some of it charm, although it is badly dated by its poor production values and mediocre script.  The much-loved horse-faced comedian is partnered with Charpin, a serious actor who, as this film shows, also has a talent for knockabout comedy.   The popular singer Fréhel appears briefly in the film (in one of her easily forgotten minor supporting roles), although it is left to Fernandel to sing the film’s three musical numbers (with only moderate success).  By far the best thing about this film is the sequence where Fernandel and Charpin take a turn as household removers (in the manner of Laurel and Hardy), with predictably hilarious consequences.

© James Travers 2007

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