Coeurs joyeux (1932)
Directed by Hanns Schwarz, Max de Vaucorbeil

Film Review

Before Julien Duviver came along and made a respectable actor of him with Maria Chapdelaine (1934), Jean Gabin was happy to fritter away his time and energy on a string of lowbrow populist comedies and crime films that are now all but forgotten.  Coeurs joyeux is by no means the worst of Gabin's early films but it's a pretty dismal offering, a supposed comedy-thriller that is neither funny or thrilling, just a routine parody of a gangster film written and directed with next to no flair or imagination.  Directed by Max de Vaucorbeil, it is the French version of Hanns Schwarz's German language film Zigeuner einer nacht, which starred Jenny Jugo and Hans Brausewetter.  Judging by the result, it looks as if something may have got lost in translation.

Coeurs joyeux struggles to live up to its perky title but, awful as the plot is, it still manages to have some charm, thanks to Gabin's youthful presence alongside the delightful Josseline Gaël, with whom he had previously starred in Jacques Tourneur's amiable comedy Tout ça ne vaut pas l'amour (1931).  Gabriel Gabrio is the other notable cast member, here cast as a heavy, the kind of role which made best use of his powerful physique.  The performances are far better than the film deserves, and if more attention had been lavished on the script, this could have been something special.  Eugen Schüfftan's stylish cinematography (hinting towards film noir) is wasted, as pointless an embellishment as gilt-framing a randomly scribbled doodle, and Gabin's one musical number just looks totally out of place.  The film's biggest mistake is having Gabin elbowed out of the action midway through the story.  With its star player out of the frame, Coeurs joyeux descends into a chaotic farce, culminating in a lively but pointless Keystone Kops-style run-a-round.  'Silly but fun' just about sums this up.

Film Synopsis

Charles is a young man who works as a projectionist at a small cinema.  One night, he is abducted by a gang of crooks and forced to repair a film projector.  For his efforts, Charles is locked up by the crooks as they go about their next criminal exploit.  As a result, Charles becomes the scapegoat for the crooks' jewel robbery and is soon arrested by the police.  Lucette, the brother of one of the crooks, comes to Charles' rescue.   She persuades the jeweller Van-Hoolst to withdraw his charge if the jewels are turned to him.  The next problem Lucette faces is finding a way to honour this promise...