Bal Cupidon (1949) Directed by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon
Crime / Thriller / Comedy
aka: The Cupid Club
Film Review
Quite what Pierre Blanchar had done to justify being thrown into this
disastrous comedy thriller is anyone's guess but you can't help pitying
him as he sinks deeper and deeper into the mire of mediocrity, with
director Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon doing his best to extinguish this
onetime bright star of French cinema. Bal Cupidon is nothing more than
the lamest pastiche of an American thriller farce, and juggles the
well-worn clichés with almost complete ineptitude as the plot
clumsily unravels before our eyes. It is possible that with a
more compatible leading duo than the totally ill-matched Blanchar and
Simone Renant the film might have had some mileage, and might even have
extracted a few respectful laughs, but as it is the film is an
unmitigated dud. The humour, such as it is, is strained to the
point that it is more likely to cause you to grind your teeth than
exercise those laughter lines, and the plot is nothing more than a
recycled murder mystery of the dullest kind - no intrigue, no depth,
just mind-numbing, time-wasting, soul-destroying tedium.
Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon did direct a few amiable films - his Maurice
Chevalier vehicle Ma pomme (1950) is an enjoyable
romp - but none of these make up for Bal
Cupidon, his biggest misfire.
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Film Synopsis
After causing a road accident by driving too fast, Flip finds himself in
court, and prosecution lawyer Isabelle Plessis takes immense pleasure in
seeing him sent to prison. Isabelle latter learns that Flip is an amateur
detective of no mean standing and she realises she needs his help in solving
a mysterious murder at a top Paris nightclub. With a friend of hers
suspected of being the killer, Isabelle has to swallow her pride and engage
Flip's professional services. Being the perfect gentleman, Flip is
more than willing to oblige. He and Isabelle will prove to be a formidable
pair of sleuths....
Cast:Pierre Blanchar (Flip),
Yves Vincent (Morezzi),
Marcelle Praince (Mme Chanut),
Suzanne Dantès (Mme Delacroix),
Henri Crémieux (Cresat),
Simone Renant (Isabelle),
Maria Mauban (Anne-Marie),
René Blancard (Turnier),
André Bervil (Tonio),
Marion Tourès (Christine),
Germaine Michel (Clémence),
François Joux (Gratien),
Pierre Juvenet (Le président Chanut),
Albert Michel (Le gardien),
Janine Miller (L'annonceuse),
Yvonne Ménard (La danseuse),
Odette Barencey (La cuisinière),
Henry Murray (Le commissaire),
André Wasley (Victor),
Christiane Delacroix (La bonne)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Black and White
Runtime: 86 min
Aka:The Cupid Club
Continental Films, quality cinema under the Nazi Occupation
At the time of the Nazi Occupation of France during WWII, the German-run company Continental produced some of the finest films made in France in the 1940s.
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