Désiré
Directed by Sacha Guitry
Written by Sacha Guitry
1937/France
Cinéas
First viewing
[box] “The best way to turn a woman’s head is to tell her she has a beautiful profile” — Sacha Guitry[/box]
This French drawing-room farce did not make me laugh much.
Odette (Sacha Guitry’s then wife Jacqueline Delubac) is a former actress and the mistress of Felix, a French Minister. The couple want to spend the summer at her home in Deauville but they are short one valet. Désiré (Guitry) arrives at the last minute to save the day. Odette hires him despite learning that he was fired for making advances to his former employer. He fits in well with Madeleine, the lady’s maid (Arletty), and the cook. When the household arrives in Deauville, however, Odette and Désire are overheard to talk in their sleep … about each other.
This is witty I suppose but it did not tickle my funny bone. There is a dinner scene poking fun at a hard-of-hearing woman that goes on way too long. I like Arletty and she is fine here.
This concludes my viewing for 1937.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_YoPiJO0do
Credit sequence – no subtitles
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