La novela de un tramposo

Sacha Guitry was the greatest orator in movie history. Even greater than Orson Welles, in my estimation. But that does not make him the greatest filmmaker. He had real trouble in SHOWING the audience what was going on, rather than telling them. I think Story of a Cheat is the most successful of his films because he found a way of creating action--an example being the jewel thief who comes up with a novel way of stealing gems from unwitting marks. The two scenes with Marguerite Moreno in the cafe are wonderfully done, with great dialog. Otherwise the story is told through narrated flashbacks.

Although Sacha Guitry acted in London in 1920 he remains practically unknown and/or forgotten here as, I would venture to guess, he is in the United States. One of the better Art Houses in Paris ran a mini season of his movies a couple of years ago but even in France he is a spent force. This is a pity because he had a great deal to offer to both stage and screen. A prolific playwright who authors close to one hundred plays and has them performed clearly has something to offer and even allowing for changes in taste and fashion it remains an impressive track record. It's difficult to find an English comparison; Gerald du Maurier was roughly contemporaneous but he only acted and never wrote a line, Peter Ustinov WAS an actor-director but began his career when Guitry was entering his final phase. The Cheat dates from 1936 and is considered in many quarters to be Guitry's finest film. I haven't seen enough titles to say yea or nay but this is certainly a charming and stylish entry. For 1936 Guitry could be said to be ahead of his time by introducing us in the very first frames not only to his cast - and even here it is far from a standard 'still' and a name; he opts for playfulness, 'where is .... ' and calling until the actor/actress emerges to take a bow - but also to his technicians from camera operator to sound recordist, composer, and film editor. At the end of all this he begins his story - in a manner later 'borrowed' in 'Kind Hearts And Coronets' - by sitting at a cafe table, producing pen and paper to which he commits his 'memoirs'. Although we cut back to Guitry at his cafe table several times his story is told largely via his narration and follows his career from the time his entire family - all eleven members - expire after eating mushrooms picked earlier that day which turned out to be toxic and from which he, as a ten-year old is forbidden to partake as a punishment for his earlier 'stealing' a few sous from the till in the family shop. The boy draws a moral lesson from this incident namely, it doesn't pay to be honest, and then he is off and running to a career of conning and cunning. It is, of course, all done with style and charm, in fact we would have to wait for Cary Grant to replicate these qualities to the same degree in the vastly overrated piece of cheese 'To Catch A Thief'. It's unlikely that film buffs in the UK or US will have the opportunity to catch this unless it appears on video/dvd one day, as they say in France, quel dommage. 7/10

I've long wanted to see this French classic, and now Criterion has finally given me the chance via their Eclipse label (the box set also includes three later Guitry films, too). I have to say, I was a little disappointed after hearing it mentioned so much as one of the defining films of the era. But it's good. It's the film's central, original technique that gives the film it's fame, I think, but also what ultimately undermines it. The whole story is told from the point of view of a writer (played by Guitry himself) who is writing his autobiography at a café. Most of the film is told in flashbacks, with the gimmick that the author narrates every second of those flashbacks. Any dialogue that happens comes from the lips of Guitry, whether it be his character speaking or another. It's cute - at first. But narration is very difficult to pull off in films. It just so rarely feels necessary, since, unlike in a book, the audience can always see what is happening. A lot of film viewers just plain dislike it, and, with almost any film you see that uses it, you can find someone complaining about it. In The Story of a Cheat, I found the narration initially amusing. But after nearly ninety minutes of it, I have to admit I got bored with the gimmick. The story itself is very frivolous. It's charming, but, in the end, it doesn't equal all that much. It has a similar "champagne on corn flakes" feel that René Clair's films often do, but it isn't anywhere near as memorable as Clair's best French work.

Cahiers du Cinema classed this as one of '100 most important films' which is high praise indeed. It is years ahead of its time and has aged like a good wine. It is the first film to use a voice-over narration and Sacha Guitry has introduced his actors and technicians on camera thereby dispensing with traditional credits. This respect for and appreciation of the talents at his disposal is evident in his subsequent films. Guitry has adapted this from his own novel and within its eighty minute length is inventive, absorbing and entertaining enough to be rightly considered one of his best films. Marguerite Moreno is great as the Countess, there is the glorious voice of chanteuse Frehel and a brief appearance by Roger Duchesne as an anarchist. He went off the radar after the War amid 'allegations' of collaboration but resurfaced in 'Bob le Flambeur'. The art direction by Henri Menessier is superlative. Guitry was essentially a man of the theatre and his films have been described as 'anti-cinematic'. There is some truth in this and the staginess, verbosity and over indulgence of his later films are inclined to test ones patience but there are also moments of genius. He was an artiste whose devotion to his craft cannot be overestimated.

This was such an enjoyable experience and a surprise considering its vintage of 1936. Mainly told via narration it never loses its charm and humour as the elderly cheat from the film's title writes his memoirs, and the audience is shown the eventful moments in flashback. The Director also was writing and staring in the film, as the main character in his later years, The young actor playing the tricheur as a young boy of 12 years was the most adorable version of the character, for me, followed by the older man. This is a film you have to see if you can, either via BluRay or DVD or via the Criterion Channel streaming service.