Les Gaietés de l’escadron (1932) - film review

Despite the best efforts of its commander, Captain Hurluret, the barracks of the 51st Rifles has yet to be acquainted with the notion of military discipline.  One hapless soldier, Vanderague, tries in vain to reconcile the contradictory orders of his superiors.   Fricot and Laplotte, two of life’s natural rebels, are endlessly on work detail, although they create more mess than they tidy up.  As his fellow officer, the over-zealous adjutant Flick, busts a gut trying to instil some semblance of order into the regiment, Hurluret opts for a more peaceful life, overlooking the odd misdemeanour and steadying his nerves with the occasional glass of absinthe.  But trouble is coming, in the guise of an important visiting general, and Hurluret can no longer get away with running the barracks as if it were a holiday camp.   When a party of reservists turns up unexpectedly, there are not enough beds to accommodate them and so Hurluret has no choice but to have several of his soldiers put in jail.  As if that was not enough, a block of cheese is stolen and two men decide to desert.  When the general arrives, Hurluret half suspects that his career may be over...

Georges Courteline’s popular novel of 1886 was the inspiration for this boisterous military farce, one of the most memorable French film comedies of the 1930s.  The film’s main claim to fame is that it brings together three of the most important screen talents of the decade, Raimu, Fernandel and Jean Gabin, all at the start of their prolific film careers.  Of these three, Raimu was the biggest star at the time, an established stage actor who had recently found national fame through his portrayal of César in Alexander Korda’s film adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s play Marius (1931).  Fernandel and Gabin had each appeared in around half a dozen films, but it would be a few years yet before they made it big.  By the end of the decade, all three actors would be living legends in their own country.

The film was directed with customary flair by Maurice Tourneur, a highly regarded filmmaker who is better known today for his atmospheric dramas, such as Volpone (1941) and  La Main du diable (1943), than his popular comedies.  Tourneur had previously made a silent version of Les Gaietés de l’escadron in 1913 with Louis Gouget.  In that earlier film, the part of Fricot was played by Henry Roussell, who appears in the 1932 version as the visiting general.  Tourneur was not a great fan of Fernandel at first but warmed to him during the making of this film.  Eager to make better use of Fernandel’s comedic talents and convinced that he was destined for stardom, Tourneur cast him in the lead role in a follow-up short to this film, Lidoire (1933).  The editing was undertaken by the director’s son, Jacques, who would go on to lead a successful filmmaking career in Hollywood, helming such classics as Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943).

Les Gaietés de l’escadron exemplifies the kind of well-made ensemble comedy that was popular in France in the 1930s.  It also illustrates the country’s ambivalence towards its military, which, as this film testifies, serves as an object of affectionate ridicule.  For decades, French audiences found great delight in laughing at the absurdities of army life, other notable examples including Jean Renoir’s Le Caporal épinglé (1962), the Charlots’ Les Bidasses en folie (1971) and Robert Lamoureux’s Mais où est donc passée la septième compagnie? (1973).  Whilst the genre has its equivalent in British and American cinema, nowhere is military authority lampooned with such vigour and vehemence as in these French comedies.  When it comes to lifting two fingers up to authority, the French are unsurpassed.

© James Travers 2010

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