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L'Ennemi public no 1
1953 Comedy
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Credits
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Summary
Having lost his job in a New York department store on account of his advanced myopia,
Joe Calvet decides to cheer himself up with a visit to the cinema. When he leaves
the theatre, he walks out with the coat of another man, who happens to be a member of
a notorious band of gangsters. When Joe pulls a gun out of the pocket of the coat,
he is arrested and, mistaken as the gangsters’ boss, sent to prison. One of the
gangsters, an attractive blonde named Lola, sees an opportunity to take control of her
band of crooks and killers. But first, her gangster associates must break into the
prison and rescue Joe….
Review
Jules Dassin was the man who was originally slated to direct Fernandel in this lavish
gangster film parody. When he was unable to return to the United States to shoot
the film’s exterior locations scenes, he was replaced by Henri Verneuil, who had previously
worked with Fernandel on a number of occasions. Verneuil succeeds in evoking the
essence of the American gangster film, whilst also ensuring that the film would have an
appeal to a mainstream French audience. With its impressive night-time city sequences,
atmospheric score by Nino Rota and set piece action scenes, L'Ennemi
public no 1 sometimes appears more like a serious homage to American film noir
than a parody, although the presence of a certain horse-faced comedian easily shatters
that illusion.
As ever, Fernandel gives great entertainment value as the hapless innocent and makes the most of Michel Audiard’s witty dialogue - although he is very nearly out-staged by David Opatoshu who, as the gangster Slim, has some of the funniest material. Generally, the acting is of much higher calibre than one would expect in a French comedy of this era, and there’s the beautiful Zsa Zsa Gabor to bring a touch of Hollywood-style glamour to the proceedings. The film’s only disappointment is its plot – with inspiration obviously lacking in the second half, the film loses momentum and just seems to peter out. Otherwise, this is an attractive and entertaining send-up of one of cinema’s best-loved genres. © James Travers 2007 Write a review for this film... |
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