Alexis gentleman chauffeur (1938)
Directed by Max de Vaucorbeil, René Guissart

Film Review

This directionless comedy would be instantly forgettable were it not for the inspired pairing of André Luguet and Suzy Prim in the lead roles, a chalk-and-cheese match that works remarkably well.  Luguet not only stars in the film, he also contributed the screenplay, and doubtless would have directed it if given the opportunity (he had previously helmed two other films).  Looking like the Ronald Colman of French cinema, André Luguet has a smooth, debonair charm which allows his flair for farce always to take us by surprise.  Luguet's penchant for 'indirect' comedy brought a touch of class to many a French film, including G.W. Pabst's Jeunes filles en détresse (1939), in which he played Micheline Presle's father, and Alex Joffé's Six heures à perdre (1947). Prim has a similar quality, a superb comic performer who possesses both a natural air of superiority and a well-developed sense of the absurd - ideal for the part she plays here.

Alexis gentleman chauffeur is a modest comedy but it is one that allows both Prim and Luguet to shine, the one convincing as a spoiled queen of the silver screen (hilarious in her outrageous feathered hats), the other intensely likeable as war pilot turned chauffeur who has an unfortunate knack of bringing chaos wherever he goes.  The film may not be an outright classic, but with its unpredictable humour and sparkling rapport between its two lead actors, to say nothing of its scurrilous insights into the filmmaking industry circa 1937, it is more entertaining than most French comedies of this era.  There's more than a hint of Lubitsch and Wilder in this forgotten little gem.

Film Synopsis

Alexis de Saint Grisols, a pilot during the war, now earns his crust as a modest taxi driver in Paris.  One day, the famous actress Margot Fontane leaves her purse in his taxi and he feels duty bound to return it to her in person.  Alexis arrives at the film studio just as Margot is shooting her latest film, and before he knows it he is offered a contract as an actor.  First cast to replace the inept actor who is unable to drive a car on the set, Alexis soon ends up playing a pilot in a crucial scene.  He takes advantage of his new role to abscond with the plane and take it to Japan to break a speed record...