Berlingot et compagnie (1939)
Directed by Fernand Rivers

Film Review

Conceived and written as nothing less than a vehicle for popular comic performer Fernandel, Berlingot et compagnie is a chaotic little comedy that has retained some of it charm, although it is somewhat dated by its modest production values and mediocre script.  The film was filmed Marcel Pagnol's studios in Marseille (where Fernandel had already proved his acting prowess in films such as Angèle and Regain) and directed by the multi-talented Fernand Rivers.  After starting out as one of Pathé's leading actors in the silent era, Rivers had success as a director of popular comedies (Le Fauteuil 47, Tire au flanc), before gravitating to more serious fare, ending on a high note with Les Mains sales (1951), an inspired adaptation of a Jean-Paul Sartre play.

In Berlingot et Compagnie, one of his less memorable comedies, the much-loved horse-faced comedian is amiably partnered with Charpin, a serious actor (now best known for his many collaborations with Marcel Pagnol) who, as this film shows, also has a talent for knockabout comedy.  Another Pagnol regular, Édouard Delmont, crops up in a supporting role, along with popular starlet Suzy Prim and the accomplished character actor Jean Brochard.

The popular singer Fréhel appears briefly in the film (in one of her easily forgotten minor supporting roles), although it is left to Fernandel to sing the film's musical numbers T'aimer une demi-journée and La Chanson du forçat (with only moderate success).  By far the best thing about this film is the sequence where Fernandel and Charpin take a turn as household removers (in a way that easily calls to mind Laurel and Hardy's 1932 classic The Music Box), with predictable but highly amusing consequences.

Film Synopsis

François and Victor are the proud owners of a stall that has a roaring trade in tasty homemade sweets at a popular funfair.  Seeing a young woman being ill-treated by a nasty piece of work, the men do not hesitate to come to her defence.  It is an act of chivalry that costs them dearly.  Later that day the aggressive thug returns and sets fire to their stall.  The two men's woes are compounded when they find they have a baby girl to look after.  François and Victor have no choice but to find work in another line of business, but whatever they turn their hand to disaster inevitably results.  Their luck changes when they help in the capture of some burglars.  By way of gratitude, the burglars' victim gives the two men a handsome cash reward, so they can buy themselves a new stall and resume their old trade...