Volpone (1941) - film review

Volpone is one of the wealthiest men in Venice, but he has no desire to share his riches with others.  When his servant Mosca suggests a scheme to obtain even greater wealth and to settle some scores with his old enemies at the same time, Volpone jumps at the opportunity.  All he has to do is to pretend to be dying and to make it known that he has yet to nominate his heir.  Sure enough, when they learn the news, his so-called friends begin to fall over themselves offering him gifts in an attempt to buy a place in his will...

One of the finest French language adaptations of an English play, Volpone should be regarded as nothing less than a masterpiece of filmed theatrical farce, although the film is scarcely known today.  The film is based on the play "Volpone" by the Elizabethan playwright, Ben Jonson, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, skilfully translated into French by Jules Romains.

The film unites two legends of French theatre and cinema, Harry Baur and Louis Jouvet, both of whom have amply opportunity to demonstrate how they achieved their legendary status.  Baur is magnificent throughout, dominating every scene he appears in, and gives what can only be described as a superlative (admittedly over-the-top) comic performance.  Jouvet is no less impressive, playing the straight man to Baur’s comic Volpone with the force and subtlety you would expect from a master of the dramatic art.  The high calibre of acting is also reflected in the supporting cast, with notable performances from Fernand Ledoux, Charles Dullin and Jacqueline Delubac.

It is remarkable, and indeed very sad, that Volpone, like so much of Maurice Tourneur’s work, has virtually been forgotten.  This is certainly a film which deserves reappraisal, because it is unquestionably one of the finest film adaptations of a work of theatre to have been produced by French cinema.

© James Travers 2002

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