Le Silence est d’or (1947) - film review

Paris, 1906.  Emile Clément is a fifty-something pioneer in the recently born art of cinematography, and he is also an inveterate womaniser.  Noticing that his young friend and employee Jacques is having some difficulty when it comes to the fair sex, Emile is more than willing to offer his advice.  One evening, Emile is accosted by an attractive young woman, Madeleine, who has just arrived in Paris hoping to find work as an actress.  Reluctantly, Emile takes her under his wing and agrees to let her appear in his films, although it is no time at all before he is hopelessly in  love with his young protégée.  Ironically, it is by following his employer’s advice that Jacques succeeds in winning Madeleine’s heart for himself...

It is a strange thing that on his return to France after his brief exile in Hollywood, René Clair should choose to take us back in time, not only setting his film in a bygone era (turn of the century Paris) but also returning to the homespun romanticism of his early films.  Le Silence est d’or appears incredibly dated for its time but, for a nation that was eager to forget its recent past, the film tapped into a widespread public appetite for nostalgia and proved to be an immense box office hit in France.   The film belongs to the same idyllic universe as Clair’s previous Sous les toits de Paris (1930) and Quatorze Juillet (1933) and may well have come from the same era, although its authentic period detail and elaborate sets mark it out as a far more extravagant production, reminiscent of Clair’s Hollywood films.  Georges Van Parys’ melodious score completes the time-travel illusion and includes the recurring song Pour les amants c’est tous les jours dimanche, which became a popular number after the film’s original release.

Le Silence est d’or not only kick-started the second phase of René Clair’s filmmaking career in France, it also served to rehabilitate Maurice Chevalier at a time when he was generally ill-regarded by the French.  During the Second World War, Chevalier had famously performed before German troops, with the result that he was charged with collaboration after the Liberation.  Although he was acquitted, Chevalier’s reputation was severely tarnished and it was only after appearing in Clair’s film that he won back his public, although there were many who never forgave him.  Before the war, Chevalier had enjoyed a long and successful career as an actor, trading on his reputation as a popular chansonnier.   Le Silence est d’or offers him one of his more substantial dramatic roles (the part was originally offered to Raimu just before he died in 1946), which he plays sympathetically and with characteristic gusto.   There are some equally pleasing contributions from his co-stars, François Périer and Marcelle Derrien (both excellent), as well as an early appearance from the gorgeous Dany Robin and a welcome comedic turn from Raymond Cordy, the star of Clair’s earlier À nous la liberté (1931).  Le Silence est d’or certainly isn’t René Clair’s greatest film but, whilst dated and formulaic, it still manages to charm with its poignant little tale of love versus friendship, and it provides a respectable homage to the halcyon days of early silent cinema.

© James Travers 2011

Write a review for this film...

This is a beautiful concoction by René Clair that deliberately goes back in time in both its story and its technique to the Belle Époque.  The script is remarkably fluid and fluent and shows the director/screenwriter at his very best.  As in most of Clair's films, there's no point in going into harsh realism or excess profundity when life could be taken with a Gallic shrug of the shoulders.  It's lovely, balanced and delightful to see, and its old-fashioned ways are charming - and quite planned.
Curtis Stotlar (Milwaukee WI USA)

What do you think of this film?