Film Review
For all his versatility as a film director, Marc Allégret was
always more successful with his melodramas than his comedies.
Les Petites du quai aux fleurs is
one of the few films he made that effectively combined melodrama and
comedy into a satisfying mélange, although it is hard to see how
the film could have failed with such a distinguished cast and talented
pair of screenwriters. The plot has a ring of Lubitsch madness
about it, but writers Marcel Achard and Jean Aurenche keep the comedy
under control and prevent the film from descending into outright farce
(as tended to happen with most of Allégret's comedies).
Bittersweet and witty rather than laugh-out-loud hilarious,
Les Petites du quai aux fleurs feels
like a forerunner of the modern rom-com and is arguably the most
satisfying of Allégret's brushes with comedy.
Marc Allégret was an accomplished and highly successful
filmmaker but his real genius was as a talent spotter. Many of
French cinema's most iconic performers owe their success to
Allégret's astute eye and willingness to nurture talent whenever
it came his way. As well as some notable established performers -
Bernard Blier, Odette Joyeux, Louis Jourdan, Jane Marken and
André Lefaur (excellent in his last screen role) -
Les Petites du quai aux fleurs is
bursting at the seams with promising newcomers. Not all of these
would go on to stardom - Simone Sylvestre, the most striking
ingénue in the cast, would soon fade into obscurity. But
three would flourish and within a few years become among the most
sought-after actors in France - Gérard Philipe, Danièle Delorme
and Daniel Gélin. Not long after this, Louis Jourdan would
be on his way to Hollywood to become a big international star,
featuring in two of Vincente Minnelli's best known films,
Madame
Bovary (1949) and
Gigi (1958).
With so much dazzling star power and glamour vying for our attention,
it is surprising that Bernard Blier manages to monopolise our attention
to the extent that he does. Odette Joyeux gives him a good run
for his money, but
Les Petites du
quai aux fleurs is mostly Blier's film, one of the first in
which his penchant for dead pan comedy is most apparent and used to
brilliant effect. Blier may not have Louis Jourdan's saturnine
good looks or Gérard Philipe's juvenile charm, but he is a born
scene stealer and has no difficulty eclipsing both of these burgeoning
matinee idols in his tailor-made role as a sympathetic goon. (The
scene in which he gets his head stuck in the helmet of a suit of
armour, à la Mr Bean, is a classic). Allégret had
given Blier some of his first screen roles, in
Gribouille
(1937) and
Entrée des artistes
(1938), but it wasn't until
Les
Petites du quai aux fleurs that he gave the actor a part worthy
of his talents. Yes, it's an impeccably crafted film, beautifully
photographed by Henri Alekan and with a cast to die for, but what makes
it special is a tour de force performance from Bernard Blier, no longer
a budding young actor but an almost fully fledged
monstre sacré.
© James Travers 2015
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Next Marc Allégret film:
Félicie Nanteuil (1945)
Film Synopsis
After his wife walked out on him, Frédéric Grimaud
was left to bring up his four daughters single-handedly. Today,
Édith, Indiana, Bérénice and Rosine are rapidly
approaching womanhood as they help their ageing father run his busy
bookshop on the Quai aux Fleurs. Rosine, the youngest daughter,
has fallen madly in love with Francis, the handsome fiancé of
her sister Édith. In a desperate state, she telephones
Francis to let him know that she intends to kill
herself. As Rosine hurries away, Francis appeals to a total
stranger, a young doctor named Bertrand, to go after her and ensure she
comes to no harm. As he plays the Good Samaritan, Bertrand tries
to justify his interest in Rosine to her family by passing himself off
as her fiancé, without success...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.