L'auberge rouge

Inspired by the 'bloodthirsty inn of Peyrebeille' this grim and grisly tale has been transformed by Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost into a comic gem. The humour is quintessentially Voltairean and enables director Claude Autant-Lara to have another dig at the Catholic Church which is here represented by the monk of Fernandel.

Although he and Autant-Lara had previously worked together on 'Fric-Frac' he was not the director's first choice for the role of the monk but was forced upon him by the producer with a view to box-office returns. As it happened the film only fared reasonably well and Fernandel was to be on much safer ground the following year as Don Camillo which proved predictably popular.

This was a far from happy experience for Fernandel both on religious grounds and his tendency to hog the limelight being severely limited by the strong presence of Francoise Rosay and Julien Carrette. Despite the tensions all three artistes give superlative performances and the scene of the confessional through a chesnut grill between Fernandel and Rosay is utterly priceless. Although Fernandel vowed never again to make an 'art' film, this role undoubtedly aided his transition from vaudevillian to 'serious' actor.

The trio of leading players together with the beautifully observed 'minor' characters, excellent art direction by Max Douy and a suitably gruesome chanson by René Cloerec given a characterful rendition by Yves Montand, all combine to make this piece an indisputable classic of world cinema.

Best to leave it with the observation of French critic Raymond Durgnat: "perhaps.....the whole world is a red inn of which God is the landlord."