Caroline chérie

"Caroline Chérie " was a blockbuster in the early fifties ;it put Martine Carol on the map;despised by the highbrows,it is nonetheless a very entertaining movie by Richard Pottier ,with plenty of fine lines written by Jean Anouilh;it was so successful that it spawned two sequels ,the second of which did not even feature Martine Carol.

So why a remake ? Probably because the producers wanted to capitalize on the success of the "Angelique Marquise Des Anges " saga ,which was a colossal success in the mid-sixties.

Let's put it straight:this remake was a fiasco,artistically and commercially.The star ,France Anglade ,was another BB clone trying to imitate Michèle "Angélique" Mercier ,but in the whole movie ,she remains a bimbo ,always overtaken by events .

Unlike the 1950 work ,it was filmed in Franscope ("on a giant screen " claimed the theaters at the time) and Eastmancolor ,but directing is poor,thin and mean and lacking in real positive energy and wit.The screenplay is botched :the original version had a running time of 140 min,its remake is boiled down to 96 min.The episodes do not make it as a whole,and because the censorship was more indulgent in the late sixties, they have all the same purpose :to see Caroline give in to male desire:there is some very furtive nudity ,and a little harpsichord tune is heard every time the heroine,willy-nilly,makes love. The supporting actors ,all superior to the star of the movie,seem to put on their usual little act before collecting their money.However Françoise Christophe is as impressive as Germaine Kerjean ,in the unsympathetic part of La Chabanne;Karin Dor is more attractive than Anglade and why Gaston chooses to save Caroline is a mystery in that context;not only Charles Aznavour appears ,cast against type,as the randy postilion,but he also writes the fine song which is heard during the cast and credits at the end of the movie :his usual collaborator Georges Gavarentz ,wrote the tune as well as the film score.

In short: Richard Pottier's Caroline:yes!Denys De La Patellière's :no!

I have to agree with the other review, there seems no direction and Caroline always comes out a bimbo. One dvd that can be left in the shop!

The first step is to see with many indulgence this film who reflects the competitions, tends , expectations of public of its time.

Second - to appreciate Caroline created by France Anglade, charming for the less artistic skills for a role between vulgar and amusing, pretending not much from actress , only a sort of innocence attractive for men, good for the emotions of male public.

The French Revolution as frame, Vittorio de Sica and Charles Aznavour , near Jean Claude Brialy, love versus marriage, a bizarre decision of poor gaston de Salanches and few childish humor drops.

A very easy film, naif and remembering the better films of period , eccentric in perspective of today and , maybe, useful for some fantaisies as support.

The noble intentions are obvious but their work is very difficult.

So, a sort of very easy historical comedy.