Summary
Paris, 1925. A young woman, Caprice, has great ambitions of becoming a famous music
hall singer, but she needs a song she can claim as her own. She approaches the song-writer
Jeff, and he gives her a song which brought only bad luck to previous performers who tried
to adopt the song. The song brings nothing but good luck to Caprice, however, and
she gets top billing at the Olympia, becoming an instant hit as Lady Paname. The
one thing that eludes her though is Jeff, whom she is madly in love with. A philosopher
and unorthodox photographer, Bagnolet, contrives to bring the two lovers together...
Review
Henri Jeanson is best known as a screenwriter, contributing to some of the finest and
most enduring films in French cinema of the 1930s and 1940s, including Hôtel
du nord. Lady Paname is the only film he directed and was made towards
the latter part of his career. The things which are most noticeable in a Jeanson
script are much more noticeable in his own film, and Lady Paname captures vividly
the essence of Jeanson’s unique style, which is fundamentally that of the auteur.
The film sparkles with wit and vitality, aided by some entertaining performances from
some of leading lights of French cinema at the time, including Louis Jouvet and Suzy Delair.
Most strikingly is how Jeanson is able to evoke the feel of 1920s Paris in this film -
almost to the extent that it really does seem that the film was made in the 1920s.
The jaunty songs contribute largely to this impression, but the cinematography and the
slightly melodramatic style of acting also manage to persuade the film was made at least
twenty years earlier than it actually was.
The film does however lack depth and some of the serious story strands are bungled, most
notably the unconvincing romance between Jeff and Caprice. Despite that, this remains
an entertaining diversion, painting a colourful portrait of music hall culture in 1920s
Paris.
Suzy Delair is unceasingly delightful as the aspiring singer Caprice, clearly relishing
her slightly comic role. Louis Jouvet’s eccentric photographer also has great entertainment
value, although, sadly, it was to mark the final chapter in his remarkable career (the
actor died shortly after the film was released).
© James Travers 2001
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