Un mauvais garçon

Jean Boyer was a comedy specialist ,but comedies which verge on musicals for there was at least one or two ditties in every movie he made;this one includes three songs ,which makes sense ,for the male principal (Henri Garat) was a singer and Danielle Darrieux was also an occasional Chanteuse ;there's a solo track by Garat,a duet ,but only one of the three songs has survived :"C'Est Un Mauvais Garçon " ,covered notably by pop singer Renaud,an infectious Musette waltz which people still sing in the banquets sometimes.

As for the film,it is quite entertaining ,with a pretty good script ,and a delightful Danielle Darrieux :I'd steal to be defended by a lawyer such as her!The beginning of the movie indicates feminist accents:the heroine,who's got a bachelor degree in law ,does not want to become a housewife and to obey an husband (in 1936,the husband had all the rights in France ,at a time when women did not vote);she's abetted by her mom but dad wants his daughter to marry a rich man and to give him grandchildren;but the ending and its implausible final unexpected twist decides in favor of the reactionary father.

Darrieux was an exceptionally good actress,with plenty of go,at ease when she played a lawyer (wearing a tie)without clients - apart from a harmless crook - or when she played cards with bad boys (wearing a cap and smoking)and using slang ,a language she did not speak in her bourgeois world.

"C'Est Un Mauvais Garçon /Il A De Drôles De Façons Pas Très Catholiques /On A Un Peu Peur De Lui/Quand On Le Rencontre La Nuit" (he's a bad boy/with not very kosher manners/we're a bit afraid of him/when we meet him at night)

But chic girls love bad seeds!

Like this? Try these....

"Fric Frac " (Lehmann/Autant-Lara,1939)

"Circonstances Atténuantes" (Boyer ,1939)