Film Review
Marcel Carné's
Les Visiteurs du soir (1942)
was most likely the inspiration for this
comédie fantastique,
escapist fare that enjoyed a brief spell of popularity in France during
the grim years of the Occupation and its austere aftermath - other
examples include: René Clair's
I Married a Witch (1942) and
Claude Autant-Lara's
Sylvie et le fantôme
(1946).
La Tentation de
Barbizon was directed by Jean Stelli, whose lachrymose melodrama
Le
Voile bleu (1942) had been one of the biggest hits of the
Occupation era. Whilst Stelli's melodramas now appear badly
dated, his comedies continue to stand up rather well, and of these the
most enjoyable is the lively farce in which an unusually demonic
François Périer goes to war with an angelic Simone Renant.
La Tentation de Barbizon
occupies an important place in French cinema: it is the film in which
comedy legend Louis de Funès made his first film appearance, as
a doorman in a swanky Parisian nightclub. It was one of the
film's principals, Daniel Gélin, who landed de Funès the
part, and although he is on screen for barely half a minute (watching in
bewilderment as Pierre Larquey tries to walk through a closed door) he
has an immediate impact. A hundred or so films later, Louis de
Funès would be his country's most popular comic actor and star
of some of the most successful films made in France.
Typical of its genre,
La Tentation
de Barbizon is pure nonsense but that doesn't prevent it from
being entertaining. François Périer shows a
surprising flair for both comedy and malevolence in a part that eerily
anticipates the darker character roles he would gravitate towards later
in his career. Around this time, Périer was in danger of
becoming typecast as the romantic juvenile, so it was a wise move of
his to play Mephistopheles to Daniel Gélin's goon-like Faust in
this spirited comedy. Périer's effortless sliminess is
perfectly complemented by Simone Renant's angelic loveliness, and you
wonder why such a photogenic and talented actress is virtually
forgotten today.
The sparkling rapport between Périer and Renant proves to be the
film's greatest asset, practically relegating the film's other two
stars, Daniel Gélin and Juliette Faber, to the level of
supporting players. (Renant manages to ignite Périer's
lighter but does little for Gélin except to turn a rival into a
fish). The only actor not to be totally eclipsed by the dazzling
Périer-Renant double act is Pierre Larquey, the Monsieur
Tout-le-Monde who stole more films than any other actor on the
planet. It's right that the honour of giving Louis de
Funès his first on-screen gag should fall to Larquey, one
incorrigible scene stealer helping another on his way to stardom.
© James Travers 2015
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Martine and Michel are a young couple who have made up their mind to
get married. During a stay at a country inn run by Martine's
uncle Jérôme their love will be put to the test by a
devil's emissary masquerading as American businessman Ben
Atkinson. Fortunately, the couple's guardian angel, in the guise
of attractive socialite Eva Parker, is at hand to help foil the devil's
scheme. Things go somewhat awry when Ben is coerced into doing
good works by Martine and Eva allows herself to be seduced by
Michel...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.