Film Review
In the course of his prolific career, the French playwright Louis Verneuil
(1893-1952) put his name to over sixty plays, many of which were adapted
for the cinema. These include Marguerite Viel's
La Banque Némo (1934),
René Guissart's
L'École
des contribuables (1934), Henri Decoin's
Mademoiselle ma mère
(1937) and Irving Rapper's Bette Davis vehicle
Deception (1946). His 1923 stage
play
Le Fauteuil 47 (which originally featured the future French film
star Gaby Morlay) was adapted twice - first in 1926 by Gaston Ravel, then
in 1937 by Fernand Rivers.
Rivers is all but forgotten today but he was extraordinary prolific as an
actor, director and film producer, starting in the early days of silent cinema
and ending in the early 1950s. By the mid-1910s, he was one of Pathé's
star actor-directors, first finding fame with his comic character Plouf.
He ended his directing career with a pretty respectable adaptation of a Jean-Paul
Sartre play,
Les Mains sales
(1951). Before this, he had helmed some other notable films -
Cyrano
de Bergerac (1946),
Ces
dames aux chapeaux verts (1949) and
Tire au flanc (1950) - and he
also assisted Sacha Guitry on his first few films,
Pasteur (1935) and
Bonne chance (1935).
For
Le Fauteuil 47, Fernand Rivers assembles a remarkable cast comprising
some of the most high-profile and talented actors of the time. Taking
centre stage, in a role that appears to have been written for her, is a magnificent
Françoise Rosay, who is best known for her collaborations with her
husband Jacques Feyder -
La Kermesse
héroïque (1935),
Pension
Mimosas (1935),
Les Gens
du voyage (1938). Playing Rosay's rejected husband is a comparable
talent, Raimu, and in the role of her wannabe lover is Henri Garat, an incredibly
popular actor and singer of the time. The director's brother Rivers
Cadet also shows up in a supporting role.
Making her screen debut as the eye-catching ingénue is Denise Bosc,
an actress whose film career was massively eclipsed by her stage work.
And then there is the great André Lefaur, a remarkably versatile actor
whose main claim to fame is that he created the title role of Marcel Pagnol's
stage play
Topaze. This extraordinary ensemble brings
more than a touch of class to what is a fairly routine French farce, one
where the plot is driven by curious coincidences and improbable misunderstandings.
Offering little in the way of directorial or cinematographic innovation,
Le Fauteuil 47 now appears somewhat dated but, enlivened by its ebullient
performances and uplifting musical numbers, it manages to be an engaging
little divertissement.
© James Travers 2006
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
During his frequent visits to his sister's boarding house, Paul Séverac
attracts the attention of a friend of hers, an attractive young woman named
Loulou. Paul can have no idea that this delightful ingénue is
the daughter of the woman he worships - the celebrated stage actress Gilberte
Boulanger. Every night without fail, Paul is compelled to watch his
idol's latest histrionic triumph, always from the same seat in the theatre,
number 47. Paul's devotion has not gone unnoticed. One evening,
not long after leaving her lover, the great actress instructs her director
to bring her admirer to her dressing room. Unfortunately, during the
interval, Paul's place in seat 47 is taken by another man, the wealthy Baron
Edouard Lebray.
The baron is honoured to be invited to see the great prima donna in person,
and when she realises how rich he is the financially embarrassed Gilberte
takes an instant liking to him. It isn't long before these happy two
are an item. Unaware of this development, Paul pays a personal call
on Gilberte at her home so that he can reveal his ardent feelings for her.
Once again fate intervenes and he is mistaken as a suitor for Gilberte's
daughter Loulou. Naturally the actress is delighted to grant her daughter's
hand in marriage to such an amiable young man.
Paul and Louou's wedding passes off without incident but it isn't long before
disillusionment sets in. In response to Loulou's decision to dine out
with a male friend, Paul finds himself a mistress. Appalled by the
prospect of a marital breakdown, Gilberte feels she must intervene to save
the marriage. This she feels she can accomplish, with the help of the
baron. To her chagrin, the same idea also occurs to her ex-husband
Juste Auguste Theillard, an ageing gym instructor who happens to be Loulou's
father. Ignoring Gilberte's please to leave well alone, Theillard directs
his attention to trying to bring about a happy reconciliation between his
daughter and Paul, but in doing so he only makes matters worse...
.
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.