Le Secret de Polichinelle (1936)
Directed by André Berthomieu

Film Review

Le Secret de Polichinelle bears a more than passing resemblance to Marcel Pagnol's early films of the 1930s but it was in fact adapted from a stage play by Pierre Wolff and directed by the far less well-known director André Berthomieu.  One of French cinema's most prolific filmmakers (he directed almost seventy films in thirty years), Berthomieu was adept at turning out middlebrow crowdpleasers of this ilk but he was by no means an auteur, and all but a handful of his films (L'Ange de la nuit, Pas si bête) now languish in obscurity.  Despite its unpromising scenario, Le Secret de Polichinelle is one of Berthomieu's more engaging offerings, and it owes this entirely to the sublime performances from its lead actors, Raimu and Françoise Rosay.

In the hands of a less capable actor than Raimu, the scene in which the prim bourgeois capitalist Jouvenel is transformed into a doting grandfather by the sight of his infant grandson could so easily have been unbearably slushy.  We can all recall Raimu's heartrending scene at the end of Pagnol's La Femme du boulanger (1938) when the baker forgives his unfaithful wife, and the actor is no less affecting in the key scene in Le Secret de Polichinelle, where Jouvenel's humanity gets the better of his cold bourgeois reserve.  Rosay has almost the same impact in a similar scene later in the film, and, as she gently plays on our heartstrings, we can easily see why she was regarded as one of the greatest French actresses of her generation, her talents sought after by such distinguished filmmakers as Marcel Carné and Jacques Feyder.

Le Secret de Polichinelle could so easily have been a great film if only it were not for its mundane script and Berthomieu's mostly uninspired direction (for the most part, the film looks like a filmed stageplay).  In addition to the knockout performances from Raimu and Rosay, there is an amusing turn from André Alerme (a talented character actor with considerable comic flair who is sadly all but forgotten today) and some authentic contributions from Bernard Lancret and Janine Crispin.  Had it been a conventional melodrama, the film would have been a tad stilted and stuffy, but thankfully it is pitched somewhere between comedy and drama, thereby making the best use of the talents its two legendary lead actors.

Film Synopsis

Monsieur and Madame Jouvenel are a respectable bourgeois couple who intend that their son Henri will marry the daughter of respectable bourgeois parents and follow their example.  Unfortunately, Henri not only has a girlfriend he knows his parents will disapprove of but also a five year old son, Robert.  When this bombshell is dropped at their feet the Jouvenels are understandably appalled and will have nothing more to do with Henri and his distinctly unbourgeois menagerie.  When he sees a photograph of little Robert, Monsieur Jouvenel has a change of heart and, without his wife knowing, pays a personal call on Henri's girlfriend.  The fusty businessman is soon won over by the adorable little boy and starts making regular visits, bringing presents whenever he calls.  Completely unaware of this, Madame Jouvenel decides she must see her grandson and, without telling her husband, pays him a visit...