Film Review
Of the handful of films directed by Émile Couzinet few are as
enjoyable as
Le Curé de
Saint-Amour, a light-hearted old-fashioned comedy of manners
which was based on a popular play by Jean Guitton. At the time the film was
made, Guitton's play was already a tad out-dated but Couzinet gives it
a new lease of life, assisted by an exemplary cast that includes some
of French cinema's most capable character actors. The fact that,
sadly, most of these great actors have been forgotten accounts for the
film's present obscurity, although it is a treat for anyone who happens
to come across it by chance. Some amusing, if not to say downright
eccentric, musical numbers add to its appeal.
Heading the cast is a magnificent Frédéric Duvallès,
tirelessly entertaining as a good-natured parish priest who spends most
of the play being caught between a rock and a hard place, the rock
being Christian charity, the hard place being a formidable aunt played
with obvious relish by Jeanne Fusier-Gir. Pierre Larquey, the most
familiar face in the cast (owing to the fact that he was in virtually
every French film of this era),
gives great value as Duvallès's well-meaning but hopelessly inept
valet. In one scene Larquey even gets to sing a song, one of the
very few occasions he did so on screen.
Le Curé de Saint-Amour isn't
spectacular entertainment, nor is it uproariously funny (except in one scene
where the asylum manages to get overrun with toddlers), but it has great charm and,
thanks to the contributions from its great cast, it out-shines many better
known French comedies of this decade.
© James Travers 2015
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Film Synopsis
On the day she is supposed to marry the respectable baron she is
affianced to, Nicole elopes with the man she really loves,
Jacques. Nicole's aunt, the indomitable Marquise de Sainte-Ange,
is understandably outraged by this turn of events and goes hurrying
after her niece, determined to bring her to her senses and avoid a
society scandal. Nicole and Jacques arrive in the village of
Saint-Amour, where they take sanctuary at the house of the kindly
parish priest. When the Marquise shows up, she persuades the
priest to help her to guide Nicole back to the path of righteousness
before it is too late, but Nicole has one more trick up her
sleeve. It seems it is too late to save her honour as she already
has a child born outside of wedlock!
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.