La Fête à Henriette
1952 Comedy / Romance
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Credits
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Summary
A script writer and a film director have decided on the characters for their next film
but have yet to come up with an original plot. As they bounce ideas off one another
a storyline starts to emerge. The heroine of the story is Henriette, a Parisian
dressmaker who is engaged to Robert, a reporter. At a ball, Robert has to abandon
Henriette, having received a mysterious invitation from a female acquaintance, Rita Solar.
Henriette gets her own back by pairing up with Maurice, a small-time crook who persuades
her to assist him in his next daring robbery...
Review
Mainly on the strength of its script (an excellent collaborative effort from Henri Jeanson
and Julien Duvivier), La Fête à Henriette is one of the most entertaining
and insightful films about the process of film-making. The idea has since been reused
a number of times, most notably in Robert Guédiguian’s 2000 film À
l'attaque!, but probably never as cleverly as in this French film classic.
Dany Robin and Michel Auclair make a strong lead couple, clearly relishing their stereotypical
comedic roles and bringing a great deal of cohesion to what might perhaps have ended up
as an unsatisfactorily fragmented film.
© James Travers 2003 Write a review for this film... |
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