Film Review
France's love affair with all things American in the twenty or so years following
the end of the Second World War is palpably conveyed by this lively comedy,
an ensemble piece that ropes in a considerable amount of comedy talent.
Even the humour has a mostly American slant to it, with the slapstick of
Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin forming the basis for most of the gags.
La Belle Américaine is essentially nothing more than one long
series of comic episodes centred around an expensive American car which brings misfortune
on its new owner - think of it as a mad comedic version of Anthony Asquith's
The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964).
Whilst some of the comedy works well, the film soon becomes a tad repetitive.
With none of the characters particularly well developed, they soon end
up looking like an array of comicbook creations whose only role
is to drive the scrappy narrative.
The film was directed by Robert Dhéry
who is probably best known as the director of the comic theatre troupe, Les Branquignols,
seen in the 1954 French film,
Ah!
Les belles bacchantes. Dhéry stars in the film along side a number of his
colleagues from Les Branquignols, including the Colette Brosset and
Louis de Funès. Within a few years, the later would become a major
star of French cinema, after the phenomenal success of
Jean Girault's
Pouic-Pouic (1963).
Dhéry and de Funès would subsequently work together on
Le Petit baigneur (1968).
© James Travers 2002
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Robert Dhéry film:
Allez France! (1964)
Film Synopsis
The life of an ordinary factory worker Marcel is completely transformed when he manages
to acquire an expensive new American car, a Cadillac convertible, for the price of a second-hand
motorcycle. His apparent initial stroke of good fortune is swiftly followed by a
run of bad luck, as he loses his job and then endures the revenge of the car's previous
owner. Fortunately, his friends are on hand to help him out, seduced by the glamour
of his American car...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.