Les Bleus de la marine (1934)

Les Bleus de la marine is a French film comedy first released in 1934, directed by Maurice Cammage.  The film stars Fernandel, Andrex, Ouvrard, Charblay and Darcelys.  Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.


Whilst their unit is marching through the town of Toulon, two sailors – Lafraise and Plumard – manage to lose their way.  Adopting a disguise, they hope to return to their ship without being noticed.  Unfortunately, on the way, they are mistaken for a government official and his secretary.  At a ceremony to inaugurate a monument, Lafraise has to give a speech, after which he creates pandemonium at a dinner party.

This lowbrow farce appears shamelessly unsophisticated even for the standards of the 1930s, but a spirited performance from a very young Fernandel gives it a sense of fun and more than a few good laughs.   The direction is clumsy and the comic situations painfully laboured, but some cheerful musical numbers help to make the film palatable.  Without Fernandel, the film would probably have disappeared without trace.  Colette Darfeuil, a popular young starlet of the era, has a significant supporting role in the film.  She appears opposite another promising young actor, Andrex, who would go on to appear in many of Fernandel’s subsequent popular comedies, without ever attaining stardom himself.

© James Travers 2004

Write a review for this film...


What do you think of this film?

More French Comedy
Recent DVD releases