Le pays d'où je viens

As befits the man who was called Monsieur 100,000 volts, Gilbert Bécaud displays all the charm and magnetism he was famous for in this film; he is playing two characters, Julien Barrière and Éric Perceval. One is a drifter with no fear, the other is a timid pianist in the cabaret run by a very jovial Gabriello. The lovely Françoise Arnoul is courted by both men. The plot is unnecessarily complex: there is Julien's evil uncle Ludovic (Jean Toulout) who wants Julien to do something--don't know what really--and three louts keep turning up wanting to beat Julien up. Françoise Arnoul as Marinette the waitress is the soul of charm: here she is playing a nice girl instead of the vixens she became known for.

I give ten stars for Bécaud and the rest of the superb cast, but only four for Carné's uninspired direction, the fake sets and the candy-floss color cinematography. Carné is trying to repeat the successes of the past and it does not work; a more improvisational feeling, relying more on Bécaud's magnetism would have been better.