Au bonheur des dames (1943)
Directed by André Cayatte

Drama
aka: Shop Girls of Paris

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Au bonheur des dames (1943)
Au Bonheur des dames was one of the most lavish productions made by the German-run company Continental Films at the time of the Nazi Occupation of France. Based on the eleventh novel in Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart saga, the film almost totally subverts Zola's original intention and offers a shameless endorsement of Pétainism at its most basic.  Despite its obvious political subtext (which earned it some unfavourable criticism during and after the Occupation), the film is technically flawless and arguably the most visually impressive film made by Continental.  The scale of the sets and attention to detail are remarkable for a film of this era, providing the grandest and most authentic portrait of Second Empire France.  Whilst the film is generally less well-regarded than an earlier silent adaptation directed by Julien Duvivier in 1930, it deserves to be considered one of the great classics of 1940s French cinema.

The film was directed by former lawyer André Cayatte, the second of three films he made for Continental, the others being the comedy La Fausse maîtresse (1942) and Pierre et Jean (1943), based on a Guy de Maupassant novella.  Although this was only Cayatte's second film, he shows considerable flair and manages to extract the maximum dramatic impact from each scene - a case in point being the final confrontation between Baudu and his rival Mouret.  Like Zola, Cayatte's art is heavily informed by the artist's social conscience, and in much of his subsequent work Cayatte would lend his voice to several important social themes, particularly failings in France's judicial system.  Au bonheur des dames may not be as outspoken in its condemnation of societal ills as the director's later work, but it is an effective, indeed prescient, commentary on the power of big business to take over our lives and impose its standards on us all in the pursuit of mega-profits. It is Baudu, the unfortunate but doomed solitary shopkeeper (magnificently played by Michel Simon) that we identify with, not the faceless monolith of a department store that drives him to ruin.

Today, the film's title seems highly ironic (particularly if you are a feminist), but what is more chilling is its boldly pro-Pétainist ending, in which the workers' resistance and individuality are finally overcome by a seemingly benign dictator (Albert Préjean at his smoothest).  It is as if the Au Bonheur des Dames department store sees itself as the absolute embodiment of the Pétainist/Nazi dream - a society in which everyone knows his place and knuckles down to his job, without dissension and complaint.  The poor are happy to become marionettes, selflessly serving the preening bourgeoisie, and no one is remotely preoccupied with the crime of class segregation.  It is a Fascist Utopia in which the less privileged are conditioned to be content with being exploited by their rich masters.  Seventy years on, far from appearing dated, the film feels horribly pertinent.  The setting may be Zola's Paris of the 1860s, but the social reality it presents is pretty much what we find in our own time.  Today, our freedoms and individuality are threatened not by Nazis or any other misguided political ideology, but by a force that is far more potent and destructive, corporate greed.
© James Travers 2012
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next André Cayatte film:
Pierre et Jean (1943)

Film Synopsis

Paris, 1860.  Baudu, an ageing shopkeeper, is none too pleased when a new department store named Au Bonheur des Dames opens on his doorstep and starts poaching his clientele.  In a desperate attempt to save his business, he drops his prices, but he merely drives himself further into debt.  Despite his straitened circumstances, Baudu is hospitable to his niece and nephews who turn up unexpectedly, looking for a place to stay after the death of their father.  Baudu is, however, appalled when his niece, Denise, finds works as a sales assistant at the rival store.  Octave Mouret, the store's ambitious owner, takes an instant liking to Denise, much to the annoyance of his mistress, Madame Desforges.  In an attempt to win back Mouret, Madame Desforges cons Baudu into giving away his shop to her, in return for a loan to pay off his present debts.  Ruined, Baudu suffers a second calamity when his daughter dies after the man she has fallen for rejects her.  Meanwhile, Mouret continues to plan the expansion of his empire...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: André Cayatte
  • Script: André Cayatte, André Legrand, Émile Zola (novel), Michel Duran (dialogue)
  • Cinematographer: Armand Thirard
  • Music: Louis Sédrat
  • Cast: Michel Simon (Baudu), Albert Préjean (Octave Mouret), Blanchette Brunoy (Denise Baudu), Suzy Prim (Madame Desforges), Juliette Faber (Mademoiselle Vadon), Huguette Vivier (Clara Prunaire), Santa Relli (Geneviève Baudu), Catherine Fonteney (Madame Aurélie), Jacqueline Gauthier (Pauline Cugnot), Maximilienne (Madame Cabin), Marcelle Rexiane (Madame Marly), Suzet Maïs (Madame de Boves), André Reybaz (Jean Baudu), Jean Tissier (Émile Bourdoncle), Jean Rigaux (Baugé), Georges Chamarat (L'inspecteur Jouve), Pierre Bertin (Gaujon), René Blancard (Colomban), Dorette Ardenne (Une vendeuse), Odette Barencey (Madame Bédoré)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 88 min
  • Aka: Shop Girls of Paris

The best of British film comedies
sb-img-15
British cinema excels in comedy, from the genius of Will Hay to the camp lunacy of the Carry Ons.
The best of American cinema
sb-img-26
Since the 1920s, Hollywood has dominated the film industry, but that doesn't mean American cinema is all bad - America has produced so many great films that you could never watch them all in one lifetime.
The greatest French Films of all time
sb-img-4
With so many great films to choose from, it's nigh on impossible to compile a short-list of the best 15 French films of all time - but here's our feeble attempt to do just that.
The best films of Ingmar Bergman
sb-img-16
The meaning of life, the trauma of existence and the nature of faith - welcome to the stark and enlightening world of the world's greatest filmmaker.
The brighter side of Franz Kafka
sb-img-1
In his letters to his friends and family, Franz Kafka gives us a rich self-portrait that is surprisingly upbeat, nor the angst-ridden soul we might expect.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © filmsdefrance.com 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright