Caprices

Joannon's last works were unintentionally funny:it was a dreadful hodge podge of Saint -Sulpician images,finer feelings and religious concerns ("le Défroqué" "le Désert de Pigalle" and "Tant d'Amour Perdus" ) were peaks of kitsch.One should note he directed the last Stan and Ollie "Atoll K" (1957) But those works of the thirties and the forties were harmless pleasant stuff :"Vous N'Avez Rien A Declarer "was ahead of its time,depicting a case of impotence!"Caprices " is another rather enjoyable comedy,in spite of a desultory script;the Cinderella syndrome was better applied on Roger Richebé's "les Amants de Minuit" (1952),but Darrieux has plenty of go,and ,considering the limitations she is working under,it 's quite a feat!From a little flower lady to a sophisticated actress complete with cigarette holder to the socialite ,she runs the whole gamut.She is given strong support by aging Albert Prejean ,in his last part of a womanizer.

Best scene: the chandelier which might fall on the guests in the chic restaurant.

Danielle Darrieux is rehearsing for what looks like a production of Shaw's PYGMALION. She's exhausted by the devilish intentions of the play's angel, so she ducks out in costume, where she is rescued by Albert Préjean, who offers to transform what he thinks is a poor flower girl into a princess for the night. Then the show's director sees an opportunity to gain a new backer. Then....

The situations keep transforming themselves under an increasing burden of deceptions, demonstrating that sometimes it is the Prince seeking the poor girl who sits in the cinders in this frothy little tale of table-turning with serious consequences,

Will it all turn out right in the end? Well, this is a film from Continental Pictures, a company set up with the remit to produce light entertainment in the dark days of the Occupation. Sometimes they had a darker understory, and sometimes they gave money to H. G. Clouzot and he blew the entire operation up; but by and large, the people in charge hoped to keep the technicians and performers of the French film industry working and earning a living, and turning out pleasant entertainment. Even though this sometimes doesn't make sense, it does entertain.