Adrien
| 1943 Comedy |  |
Credits Director:
Fernandel
Script: Jean Aurenche et Jean de Letraz, based on the play by Jean de Letraz Photo: Armand Thirard Music: Roger Dumas, Jean Manse Cast: Fernandel (Adrien Moulinet), Jean Tissier (Mouillette), André Gabriello (Nortier), Roger Duchesne (Etienne), Paul Azaïs (Jules), Paulette Dubost (Arlette), Jane Marken (Madame Hortense), Huguette Vivier (Monique) Sortie: le 22 décembre 1943 (Paris) Runtime: 80 min; B&W Summary Modest bank employee Adrien Moulinet sees an opportunity
to achieve wealth and fame, thanks to his revolutionary invention: the
motorised roller skate. But, without money and experience, how is
he to market his new brainchild? He turns to an out-of-work ad-man
Jules to help him. With the support of three women, and a certain
amount of good luck, Adrien soon finds himself being propelled up the social
ladder...
Review The pressures of working for Continental Films
seem not to have dented Fernandel’s enthusiasm one iota and in this entertaining
farce – which he also directed – the great comic actor gives a typically
ebullient performance. The Nazi-run company was clearly keen to exploit
Fernandel’s popularity, and maybe allowing the comedian to direct the film
was a cheap way of buying his complicity. In any event, it wasn’t
Fernandel’s first directing job – he’d already cut his directorial teeth
on Simplet, made just before the
Occupation. It is not hard to see why, in France’s darkest hour,
a film like this would have been greatly appreciated by the masses.
© James Travers 2003 |
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