Honoré de Marseille (1956)
Directed by Maurice Régamey

Film Review

One of Fernandel's better comic outings, Honoré de Marseille is tailor-made for the horse-faced comedian and gives him ample opportunity to regale us with his talent for no-nonsense, inoffensive comedy.  There are some very funny jokes, and a wonderful piece of slapstick with Francis Blanche.  A number of cheerful musical numbers sung by the film's star also add greatly to the film's appeal.  The film offers an attractive, deeply nostalgic portrait of Marseilles, capturing the beauty of the ancient seaport and the affable bonhomie of the people who live there.

Film Synopsis

Honoré is one of the most popular figures in the French port of Marseille.  Interviewed by a journalist, he proudly recounts the history of the town, laying particular emphasis on the important part that his ancestors have played over the years.  If Honoré is to be believed, it was his illustrious Greek predecessor Protis who founded the city, and it was the Roman captain Honorius who invented the popular game of pétanque when a ball from a catapult landed at his feet.

Indeed, so immense is the contribution that Honoré's ancestors have made to Marseille it is a wonder that the city isn't named after him!  The only dark cloud in Honoré's sunny life is his waspish wife, Toinette, who for some reason resents his flirting with other women.  Toinette has put up with her husband's shameless philandering for long enough and the final straw comes one Christmas when Honoré has to present a beauty contest in which he must rig the outcome...