Sandwiched between Sérénade aux nuages
and Destins,
two of Tino Rossi's best known films, is the comparatively little known
Le Gardian, in which the
legendary singer makes a somewhat ill-advised attempt to model himself
on Gene Autry, the singing cowboy. Not having the physique for a
cowboy, Rossi looks patently absurd throughout most of the film, but
what makes the film so instantly forgettable is its lacklustre plot and
pedestrian mise-en-scène. Filmed in Aimargues, in the
attractive Gard department of southern France, the location certainly
offers the wide open spaces of the classic American western, but
director Jean de Marguenat is clearly no John Ford and the film ends up
more as a stuffy, routine melodrama than a picturesque western.
The only scene that can be described as inspired is the one in which
Rossi encounters a naked Lilia Vetti in a vast espanse of wheatfield, with
the sun setting mournfully behind him. It's a weirdly beautiful moment
but one that is sadly soon forgotten.
On the cast front, Alexandre Arnaudy and Édouard Delmont bring
some colour and authenticity to the film, as they did on Marcel
Pagnol's films of this era, but some unforgiveably wooden acting from
Rossi and his co-star Loleh Bellon makes the film painfully stilted and
synthetic. Even the musical numbers are below par, and with the
exception of a lively sequence in which Rossi carouses with some
gypsies, the film has a hard job keeping its spectator awake.
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Film Synopsis
In the Camargue region of southern France, Renaud is a cowboy who
intends to marry Livette, the young daughter of a wealthy farmer,
against the wishes of her parents. Livette has a fierce rival in
the gypsy Zinzara, who seduces Renaud in an attempt to ruin her
life....
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