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Le Blanc et le noir
1931 Comedy
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Credits
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Director: Robert Florey
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Script: Sacha Guitry
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Photo: Roger Hubert
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Music: Philippe Parès, Georges Van Parys
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Cast: Raimu (Marcel Desnoyers),
André Alerme (George Samoy),
Louis Baron fils (Le Grand-père),
Pauline Carton (Mary,
la bonne),
Raymond Ceccaldi,
Charlotte Clasis (Mme Massicaud),
Suzanne Dantès (Marguerite Desnoyers),
Monette Dinay (Joséphine),
Fernandel (Le Groom),
Louis Kerly (Arthur),
Charles Lamy (Docteur Leclerc),
Paul Pauley (M. Timiriou),
Irène Wells (Peggy Samoy)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 106 min; B&W
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Aka: Black and White
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Summary
Marcel and Marguerite Desnoyers are staying in a hotel on the Spanish border. After
a row with her husband, Marguerite is convinced he is being unfaithful to her. So,
whilst he is away on a business engagement, she decides to spend a night with a total
stranger. Hearing a tenor singing a beautiful air, she invites him to her darkened
bedroom, not realising that he is black. Nine months later, the Desnoyers couple
are expecting their first child. Marcel is in for something of a shock…
Review
This instantly engaging four-act farce was written by Sacha Guitry and directed by Robert
Florey after his first stint in Hollywood. Its significance to many film enthusiasts
lies in the fact that it features two French actors who would come to great prominence
in the following decades – established stage actor Raimu and an unknown vaudeville comedian
Fernandel. Despite being on screen for barely five minutes, the latter manages to
leave his mark on the film – such is his charisma that you could easily mistake him for
the star of the film. The actual star of the piece is of course Raimu, an actor
who is better known for straight roles than comedy, although here he puts in a terrific
comic performance.
The film must have been pretty daring for its time – a plot centred on an interracial
coupling would have been unthinkable in Hollywood and must have raised more than a few
eyebrows in France. The situation – the wife of a respectable man being impregnated
by a Negro singer – offers a rich vein of comedy which Guitry takes great pleasure in
mining. Whilst the film may now appear somewhat unsophisticated and overly theatrical,
it nonetheless still has great entertainment value, providing a rather good example of
the kind of social satire that was so popular in its day.
© James Travers 2006
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