Le roman d'un tricheur

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.

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.

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.

I can only approve of my old pal Writer's Reign 's opinion ,who for a change wrote the very first comment."Le Roman d'un Tricheur" is an unique work ,which tends to make a reductio ab absurdum : what 's the point of being honest if honest people are chastised.

So much for the prelims: a young boy was born a very big family :12 persons in all;as he had stolen some money,he was punished and deprived of mushrooms! But they were poisonous mushrooms and the whole family but the naughty brat went to their grave .So what's the point of being honest? The whole story is told by a voice over;the form was totally new since the actors did not act ,they just mimed ,like some kind of tableaux vivants.The only scenes (two) where you find a real dialog are the ones between the hero (Guitry ,of course) and Marguerite Moreno's countess.

This is a short film (barely 80 min) but Guitry 's story is dense and includes an attempt against the life of Russian tsar Nicolas the Second , a lesson of geography about Monaco , a trip to the casinos (royale or not)where the hero tries his luck with mixed results , WW1,a sneak thief -whose methods would make Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie admire the lady-,and more ...

Guitry was often criticized in France ;they said he had an unbearable ego .Completely true:that's what made his movies so exciting.