Monseigneur (1949)
Directed by Roger Richebé

Film Review

An important producer of the 1930s and 40s, Roger Richebé also directed a number of films, although only a handful of these stand up well today. Monseigneur is one of the few films directed by Richebé that have stood the test of time, a wry comedy-drama that pokes fun at the monarchists' dream of finding a living descendent to the executed King Louis XVI, the most prominent victim of the French Revolution.  A few years earlier, Richebé had had some fun with the revolutionary era comedy Madame Sans-Gêne (1941), which featured Arletty in one of her best-fitting screen roles.  Before this, the director had taken a sharp satirical axe to another great French institution, the Académie française, in L'Habit vert (1937).

Whilst the plot is frankly ridiculous, it was widely believed at the time the film was made that Louis XVI's son (the uncrowned Louis XVII) did escape from the Temple, the fortress where he was held prisoner with his parents - a theory that has since been comprehensively discredited.  The main reason for watching Richebé's film, other than to refresh and/or test your knowledge of French history, is to appreciate the performances from two of French cinema's superlative performers - Bernard Blier and Fernand Ledoux - to say nothing of the fine supporting cast that includes a stunning Nadia Gray.   Carlo Rim's script also has much to commend it, with plenty of dead pan humour to make up for the absence of a credible plot.  The most memorable scene in Monseigneur is a sequence in a waxworks gallery which provides both a potted history lesson and an excuse for some decidely black humour about the aptly named Reign of Terror.

The idea that someone of Bernard Blier's physiognomy should be the rightful heir to the French throne is not as fanciful as it first appears.  The actor bears an uncanny likeness both to Louis XVI and his son, and, who knows, some document may turn up in a few centuries to prove that Blier was indeed the great grandson of Louis XVII!   As was often the case at the stage in his career, Blier is cast as the innocent Joe in a cruel game of deception, superbly matched by Ledoux, excellent, as ever, in another of his ambiguous character roles.  The film is too silly to take seriously, but the performances are effortlessly entertaining.

Film Synopsis

Louis Mennechain, a modest Parisian locksmith, can hardly believe his ears when an amiable historian named Piétrefond reveals that he is the direct descendent of King Louis XVI and therefore the rightful king of France.  After undertaking extensive research, Piétrefond produces a number of documents that leave no doubt as to Mennechain's claim to the French throne.  The locksmith must give up his simple life and assume the title that Fate has thrust in his direction.  Not long after Mennechain has begun to grow accustomed to his new life amongst France's nobility, Piétrefond claims the reward he believes he is owed...