Ils étaient neuf célibataires (1939) - film review

When a law is passed authorising the expulsion of all foreigners from France, a small time conman, Jean, sees an opportunity to make money.  He opens a hospice for homeless elderly bachelors with the intention of marrying off its inmates to wealthy foreign women, for whom the only way to stay in France is to marry a Frenchman.  Aside from the financial gain, Jean’s motive for this scheme is to trap a beautiful Polish woman into marrying him.  Things go well until the former bachelors decide to visit their new wives at their homes...

Sacha Guitry’s multifarious talents as writer, director and actor are very much exemplified by this boisterous farce, in which Guitry shares the limelight with some leading performers of the day.  An ensemble piece in the truest sense of the word, the film’s greatest asset is its extraordinary cast, who work together as effectively as an established theatrical troupe.  This is particularly so for the actors playing the nine bachelor tramps - each manages to distinguish himself with eccentric charm whilst complementing his comrades, rather like some magnificent music hall act.

Ils étaient neuf célibataires is a surprisingly modern film, and shows how far ahead of his time Guitry was in both his writing and his filmmaking technique.   The film certainly shows much greater innovation and sophistication than most French burlesque farces of this era, and also illustrates both Guitry’s passion for social commentary and his inventiveness.   The sketch film was very much in fashion at the time and Guitry saw the potential this format offered, for both his writing and for showcasing his talented actors.  Although weighed down slightly by a needlessly convoluted plot and an excess of characters (a supporting cast of around twenty is not untypical for Guitry), it is a hugely entertaining film, stuffed with witty one-liners, unexpected visual jokes and some truly bizarre characterisation.

By today’s standards, the film may appear a touch politically incorrect, but this merely reflects the age when it was made.   In 1938, when Guitry wrote the script for the film, fascism was at its height in mainland Europe and, in France, a huge influx of refugees from Eastern Europe resulted in an ever-rising tide of xenophobia.  Concerned by the prevailing mood in his country, Guitry imagined how this would end, with mass expulsions of foreigners.  His reaction was to make a satirical film, one which he presumably hoped would serve to alert his fellow countrymen to the path they might be treading.  Unfortunately, Guitry’s well-intended aims were soon overtaken by events.  The very day after the film’s première, World War II broke out and the French people had other matters to concern themselves with.   Oddly, the film is probably more relevant to the Western world of the early 21st century than to late 1930s France.   Sixty years on, the problems of homelessness and racial tension are just as visible.  Plus ça change....

© James Travers 2004

Write a review for this film...

What do you think of this film?