Film Review
Such was the immense popularity of
Pas si bête in 1947 (it
attracted an audience of over six million) that Bourvil became an
instant box office magnet and, as a result, the formula of this film
was replayed
ad nauseum over
the next few years, effectively typecasting the comic performer in the
role of the likeable goon for the bulk of his career.
André Berthomieu, the director of Bourvil's first hit comedy,
achieved similar success with his second,
Blanc comme neige, which is not
only similar to
Pas si bête
but also virtually identical to Berthomieu's next two collaborations
with Bourvil:
Le Coeur sur la main (1949) and
Le Roi Pandore (1959), not
surprisingly as the comic star plays the same character in all four
films, a likeable idiot named Léon Ménard.
Blanc comme neige is a fairly
undistinguished comedy which is barely sustained by its pedestrian plot
and few wearisome gags, but Bourvil's amiable presence has somehow
prevented it from tumbling into obscurity (it's hard to believe that
such a lacklustre film could possibly have drawn an audience of 3.7
million on its first release). As in all of Bourvil's early
films, the highpoint is an infantile musical number sung by the star
himself, this one being
C'est
l'piston. If nothing else, it makes a nice soporific.
© James Travers 2015
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Film Synopsis
Léon Ménard travels many kilometres from his home in the country
to find work in Paris, with the intention that one day soon he will marry
his girlfriend Charlotte. Fortune appears to be smiling on Léon.
Not long after his arrival in the capital he is accosted by a strange man
named Bob, through whose intervention he gets a job as a night porter in
a hotel. Little does Léon know that Bob is planning to break
into the hotel so that he can help himself to the jewels of a wealthy Dutchman,
Monsieur Van Dongen. The gullible Léon is the perfect stooge
for Bob's criminal exploit, and sure enough once the crime has been committed
it isn't long before the country bumpkin is arrested and charged with the
theft. Charlotte demonstrates her resourceful and devotion to Léon
by unmasking the real criminals and bringing them to justice...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.