Summary
One morning, a wealthy business man Bertrand Barnier receives a visit from one of his
employees, Christian Martin, who demands both his daughter’s hand in marriage and a substantial
pay rise. When Barnier refuses, Christian reveals that he has embezzled a small
fortune from the company’s funds, with which he has bought a suitcase full of jewels.
When Christian offers to hand over the suitcase, Barnier agrees to the marriage, without
realising that Martin’s girlfriend is not really his daughter at all, but a poor girl
who is just pretending that Barnier is her father. Before he discovers the truth,
Barnier learns that his real daughter is pregnant, by his ex-chauffeur Oscar who has just
set off for a polar expedition. Eager to avoid a scandal, Barnier attempts to bribe
Christian into marrying his real daughter...
Review
Based on a hugely popular stage play, which ran for over 600 performances in Paris (and
which also starred Louis de Funès), Oscar is a good example of the kind
of comic farce which has always delighted French cinema audiences. Although the
plot is excruciatingly complicated in places, the film is generally well-written and offers
some brilliant comic moments.
The film’s strongest selling point is the remarkable comic performance from Louis de Funès,
who shows beyond any doubt why he is rated as one of France’s greatest comic geniuses.
The face-stretching frenzied comedian is in his element in a part which looks suspiciously
as if it were written exclusively for him. The film was directed by Edouard Molinaro,
who is perhaps best known for his subsequent film adaptation of another successful French
play, La Cage aux folles
.
The inevitable American re-make came in 1991, a film of the same title, directed by John
Landis, with - wait for it - Sylvester Stallone in the role played by Louis de Funès.
Evidently, this was a very different kind of film...
© James Travers 2002
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