Tire au flanc (1950)
Directed by Fernand Rivers

Film Review

André Mouézy-Éon and André Sylvane's celebrated play Tire-au-flanc had already been adapted for cinema three times before director Fernand Rivers picked it up, dusted it down and made it the subject of his last but one film. Jean Renoir had directed a silent version in 1928, starring Michel Simon, and this was followed soon after by a sound version helmed by Henry Wulschleger.  This is not to forget a silent short, released in 1913, and the version that François Truffaut would subsequently make with Claude de Givray in 1961.  Rivers' film is probably the best of the sound versions, and it owes this to the presence of two of France's legendary comedy performers, Maurice Baquet and Francis Blanche.

Baquet wasn't just a great comedian, he was also an accomplished musician, actor and sportsman, qualities which are all put to good use in this film, with the result that Blanche is almost relegated to the status of a supporting role.  Pierre Bertin and Paulette Dubost also provide immense value as the fastidious colonel and the troublesome maid Georgette, forming a comedy quartet with Baquet and Blanche which handsomely reinvigorates Mouézy-Éon and Sylvane's somewhat dated play. 'Garrison comedies' of this kind were phenomenally successful in France in the 1930s, but pretty rare by the late 1940s (presumably the experience of WWII had made army life an unsuitable subject for comedy).

Rivers' film gets away with poking fun at the French army by doing so in a comfortably distanced Belle Époque setting (which provides an excuse for an over-long but entertaining music hall sequence).  This has the unfortunate effect of making the film appear more dated than it deserves to be, but, with the hyper-energetic Bauquet and hyper-humorous Blanche livening up the ranks, there's hardly a dull moment.  It's not a great comedy, but an enjoyable one, worth watching for Blanche's double-handed salute gag and Baquet's outrageous one-man ballet.

Film Synopsis

Despite the best efforts of his aristocratic aunt, Jean du Bois d'Ombelle cannot get out of doing his military service.  By contrast, his manservant, Joseph Turlot, can hardly wait to get into uniform, even if it means taking leave of his fiancée Georgette.  Turlot takes to barrack life like a duck to water, but poor Jean, with his airs and graces, soon becomes an object of ridicule.  After a series of disasters, the two men have one last chance to redeem themselves, at a reception hosted by their colonel...