Film Review: Bizarre, Bizarre (Drôle de drame, 1937)

over 1 year ago (Edited)

(source: tmdb.org)

French director Marcel Carné is best known for his period drama epic Children of Paradise and 1930s crime dramas that are considered precursors to Hollywood's film noir. One of his most interesting films, however, belongs to a completely different genre. It is Drôle de drame, a 1937 dark comedy, in English-speaking countries better known under the title Bizarre, Bizarre.

It is based on His First Offence, a 1911 novel by Scottish author Joseph Storer Clouston, which had been first adapted as a 1912 American silent film The Mystery of No. 47. This version has the plot set in early 20th Century London and begins when Archibald Soper (played by Louis Jouvet), Anglican bishop of Bedford, denounces "immoral" crime novels written by a popular author who goes by the pen name "Felix Chapel". That author happens to be cousin Irwin Molyneux (played by Michel Simon), a meek botanist who finds inspiration for his plots in wild tales by Billy (played by Jean-Pierre Aumont), a milkman who visits his household because he is infatuated with Molyneux's secretary Eva (played by Nadine Vogel). Soper invites himself into Molyneux's home for supper at the most inopportune moment; two of the servants have quit and Molyneux must serve a meal prepared by his wife Margaret (played by Françoise Rosay), who, in order to prevent embarrassment, must pretend that she isn't home. This awkward situation convinces Soper that Molyneux has killed his wife, and when both spouses leave the house in order to hide in Chinatown, he calls Scotland Yard. Molyneux becomes sought by the police, but his publisher hires "Chapel" to cover the manhunt. In the meantime, Molyneux also has to deal with William Kramps (played by Jean-Louis Barrault), a serial killer who blames "Chapel" for having to run from the police after taking the novelist's descriptions of the perfect crime too seriously.

Made entirely in the studio and written by Jacques Prévert, the famous poet and Carné's frequent collaborator, Bizarre, Bizarre begins slowly and requires a modern audience to adapt to occasional outbursts of theatricality and melodrama. However, once the major characters are established and the plot gets going, the film becomes quite entertaining, partly because of Carné's confident direction, partly because of the very good black-and-white cinematography by Eugen Schüfftan, but mostly thanks to Prévert's script that gives the darkly humorous story the flavour of a typically French farce. The most important ingredient for Bizarre, Bizarre is the very good cast, which includes some of the grandest names of 1930s French cinema, including Michel Simon in a somewhat complex role of a meek intellectual forced to take on another identity. Louis Jouvet is also good in the role of a hypocritical clergyman, while Jean-Louis Barrault, who would later shine in Children of Paradise, plays a very interesting role of a strangely sympathetic serial killer and even briefly appears nude in one scene, a sight which was quite rare for 1930s mainstream cinema. Prévert's script provides a lot of humour and even some satirical commentary directed at the masses that are easily turned into lynch mobs due to sensationalist press. Although slightly rough around the edges, Bizarre, Bizarre is a funny film that could be recommended even to an audience that cares little for old cinema.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)