Romance de Paris (1941)
Directed by Jean Boyer

Film Review

Romance de Paris is a shining example of the feel-good fare that was available to cinema audiences in France during the dark days of the Occupation, an ambitious but reasonably effective attempt to emulate the popular musicals that were being churned out in Hollywood at the time.  The film musical enjoyed some success in France in the 1930s and 40s, but it remained a minor genre, possibly because French cinemagoers were not quite so susceptible to its saccharine charms as their American counterparts.  Another reason may have been that this kind of film faced stiff competition from an another form of mass entertainment that was still thriving, the music hall.

At the outset of WWII, one of the biggest stars of the French music hall was Charles Trenet, a singer who is famous in the English-speaking world for his hit songs La Mer (better known as Beyond the Sea) and Boum!   With his frizzy red hair and bulging blue eyes, Trenet deserved his soubriquet 'le fou chantant' and brought a jolt of jazz-influenced modernity to the chansonnier circuit in the 1930s.  An immensely talented singer and inspired lyricist, he was famous for his bubbly persona, a facet of his which is preserved for posterity in the half a dozen or so films he starred in during the 1930s and 40s.   Romance de Paris was Trenet's third film, following two previous successes:  La Route enchantée (1938) and Je chante (1938).

The film was directed by Jean Boyer, the director who was probably most associated with the musical genre in France at the time.  Boyer's first musical, Un mauvais garçon (1936), had been an immense success and bolstered the popularity of Danielle Darrieux and Henri Garat, two of the biggest stars of the moment.  Boyer's common touch and technical competence allowed him to deliver a string of popular hits - mostly low-grade comedies such as La Chaleur du sein (1938) and Circonstances atténuantes (1939), but also a fair smattering of musicals, featuring such stars as Arletty, Michel Simon, Fernandel and Raimu.  Romance de Paris is one of Boyer's most extravagant films and includes a finale that appears to be an affectionate homage to the lavish song and dance set-pieces choreographed by Busby Berkeley in such films as 42nd Street (1933) and Gold Diggers of 1933.
 
Plotwise, Romance de Paris has very little to commend it.  It's just the old rags-to-riches, 'a star is born' scenario that had been done to death in Hollywood.  Fortunately, the plot is the least important ingredient in the film.  Charles Trenet's presence alone elevates it way above the merely humdrum and makes it a crowd-pleasing fairytale that bristles with charm and vitality.  The character that Trenet plays, an amiable, publicity-shy youth who is loyal to his friends and family, is close to the man himself, to the extent that the film can almost be read as a biography.  Although not a natural actor, Trenet's charisma and self-effacing charm carry him through, and of course he is at his best in the various musical interludes that are effortlessly shoe-horned into the narrative. Supporting actors Jean Tissier and Sylvie have an effective rapport with the film's star and contribute just as much to its warmth and authenticity.

Romance de Paris may not be as grand and sophisticated as the great American musicals of the time, but the fact that it features one of the most talented entertainers of the 20th century gives it an enduring prestige.  Offering such familiar numbers as Bonsoir, jolie Madame, Tout ça, c'est pour nous and the eminently hummable title number, it is a film that every Charles Trenet fan can take to his or her heart.  It's a mistake to think that French cinema of the Occupation era was unremittingly grim.  Here is a film that proves the opposite - an instantly engaging diversion that cannot fail to lift the spirits.

Film Synopsis

Georges Gauthier is a young man who dreams of becoming a music hall singer but has to content himself with his humdrum life as an electrician.  Every evening, without his mother knowing, he calls on the Folies-Concert to listen to the popular chansonniers of the moment.  On one of his visits to the music hall, Georges makes the acquaintance of Jeanette, whose father, Lormel, is one of the top-billed singers.  Jeanette resents the fact that her father is so obsessed with his career that he has no time for his family.  Aware that Georges has some promise as a singer, the music hall's director promises to offer him an audition one day.

The one person who would be most horrified by Georges's musical aspirations is his mother, who has good reason to want to steer him away from a career in show business.  She confides in Jules, her son's best friend, that her husband was an actor who abandoned her for the sake of his career, leaving her to bring up her son and daughter Madeleine alone.  Knowing that Jules is carrying a torch for her daughter, Madame Gautier encourages him to go after her.  Before Jules can make his move, however, Madeleine runs off with another man, Maurice, who will only bring her misfortune.

Realising that he can't leave his mother now that she has lost her daughter, Georges gives up his ambitions of becoming a singer, although he continues seeing Jeannette, as he is now deeply in love with her.  What Jeannette most likes about Georges is that he is an ordinary man who is content with his ordinary life, not the kind who is likely to desert her for fame and fortune, like her showbiz-addicted father.  After losing his job, Georges soon gets another as a house painter.  He cannot resist singing as he paints, and this is how his talents are discovered by the director of the Folies-Concert, who immediately offers him a contract.

Georges agrees to the contract, providing he can retain his anonymity throughout his engagement at the music hall.  There are to be no photographs, no publicity, and he will perform under an assumed name, Jean Papillon.  Success comes easy to Georges, and he is soon one of the music hall's most popular performers.  Unable to reveal his new career to his mother, he allows her to think that he has found himself a job as a night watchman.  Madame Gautier discovers the truth when an impresario shows up at her house...