Film Review
Although far better known as a dramatic actor (both on stage and
screen), François Périer had shown a natural flair for
comedy in Guy Lefranc's lively rom-com
Elle
et moi (1952). Périer's presence added lustre
to what might otherwise have been a routine comedy, and he has a
similar effect (albeit to a lesser degree) on Lefranc's subsequent
Capitaine Pantoufle, a screen
adaptation of a stage play entitled
Many,
written by the actor-turned-playwright Alfred Adam.
Interestingly, almost a decade before, Périer had starred in
another film based on an Alfred Adam play,
Sylvie et le fantôme
(1946). In that film, Périer had to pass himself off as a
ghost. In Lefranc's film, he has a go at being a zombie.
Lacking the screwball dynamism and wildly eccentric digressions of
Elle et moi, this second
Périer-Lefranc collaboration is a more traditional kind of
French comedy, effectively an anti-bourgeois satire in which a Walter
Mitty-style dreamer (Périer) takes bizarre steps to find
temporary relief from an existence of will-sapping mundanity. The
central joke of the film is that only by feigning a catatonic fit does
the hero come to recognise himself as the zombie-like non-entity which
bourgeois conformity has made him. Adam's adaptation of his own
play does little to disguise its theatrical origins and, as a result,
Lefranc's mise-en-scène feels flat and static, lacking its
customary warmth and vitality.
Overlong and a tad repetitive,
Capitaine
Pantoufle is just about redeemed by the exceptional quality of
the acting ensemble that manages to make something of Alfred Adam's
fairly mundane and not particularly funny play. François
Périer has the thankless task of spending most of the film in a
state of simulated paralysis, so it's no surprise he ends up being
eclipsed by the ample supporting cast. First off there is Louis
de Funès, no longer a bit player but a confident comedy
legend-in-the-making, shamelessly looking like the star of the film in
the early scenes, comfortable in the kind of role that he would later become best
known for - the tyrannical, over-fastidious boss from Hell.
Only de Funès can make the phrase "Mon cher ami" sound
like a declaration of war.
No sooner has the show-stealing de Funès ducked out of the frame
than some other attention-grabbing performers dive in to take his place
- Noël Roquevert, Jane Marken, Marthe Mercadier and Pierre
Mondy. Despite the dearth of scripted humour there's plenty of
fun to be had, and whilst
Capitaine
Pantoufle is by no means Guy Lefranc's most memorable comedy, it
is more than up to the job of whiling away a dull afternoon.
Louis de Funès may be on screen for a fraction of the time that
François Périer gets, but if an actor's contribution is
measured by the pleasure he brings to his audience Fufu should definitely
be credited as the star of the film.
© James Travers 2015
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Guy Lefranc film:
Le Fil à la patte (1955)
Film Synopsis
Emmanuel Bonnavent, a modest bank clerk who is fed up with his
monotonous existence, likes to imagine how much happier he would be if
he had the money to buy an expensive car or depart on an ocean cruise
to some exotic clime. One day, he 'borrows' a large sum of money
from his bank, just so that he can experience what it is like to be a
wealthy man, able to make his dreams a reality. The theft is
quickly discovered by Emmanuel's employer and before he knows it the
young daydreamer is facing a barrage of reproach from his wife and her
parents. Faced with this verbal onslaught Emmanuel's only way out
is to fake a seizure. In a state of simulated catatonia, Emmanuel
soon comes to realise the contempt that his wife and in-laws have for
him and discovers that his only friend is his housemaid, Zite. On
the spur of the moment, Emmanuel decides to run off with Zite and start
a new life, having returned the stolen money. It only escape were
this easy...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.