'Premier rendez-vous' is a fabulously funny romantic comedy that has at its centre the hilariously witty, poised and uniquely idiosyncratic brilliance of Danielle Darrieux. Excelling in every genre from romance ('Mayerling') to comedy ('The Rage of Paris', 'Occupe-toi d'Amelie..!') and thriller ('La Verite sur Bebe Donge', '5 Fingers'), she again exhibits the civilised charm tinged with a hint of zany madness that so illuminates the screen and made her one of the most glittering treasures ever to have graced French cinema.
In essence, the story is relatively straightforward. Micheline Chevassu is a young and naïve girl living in an orphanage who hopes of romance with a handsome young man of her dreams. She corresponds with someone who replies to her ad and quickly falls in love with her imagined ideal of manly beauty. Escaping to meet him at a café, she finds the shy middle-aged Mr Rougemont (Fernand Ledoux) waiting instead. Embarrassed at his deception, he says that the real letter-writer couldn't come. She goes home with him to avoid scandal as he is a well-known professor and she hides there. Mr Rougemont's nephew, Pierre (Louis Jourdan), agrees to play the role of the letter-writing Prince Charming. Cue a most delightful romantic comedy. It all ends happily, of course, but what makes it work so well is the comedic ebullience of Darrieux.
The movie is proficient in every department. It is emblematic of the high quality productions of Continental-Films under the Nazi devotee of French cinema, Alfred Greven. Goebbels oversaw the establishment of Continental-Films in September 1940, with the aim of controlling the French film industry and producing top quality movies featuring the cream of French talent. It appears that Resistance ideology gradually permeated the company and that Goebbels was not content with the lack of restrictions placed on directors by Greven. Darrieux remained in France during the Occupation and was branded a collaborator by the Resistance for entertaining German forces, even receiving death threats.
Directed by her soon-to-be ex-husband Henri Decoin again, this movie is just as funny as the previous year's 'Battement de coeur'. The screenplay by Decoin and Max Kolpe is accomplished and reminiscent of the best screwball comedies of Hollywood. Darrieux is a veritable hoot in her role and her inimitable comedic talents are showcased in several timeless scenes. Watching her order a fancy cocktail in a cheap café and the ensuing consternation it causes is a beauty to behold. Even funnier is the scene where she bounces off the springy bed onto the floor, clad in a scanty nightdress as the professor knocks to bring her breakfast. As Darrieux looked up, peering sheepishly through her ruffled hair, I laughed out loud.
Movies such as this gem are an integral component of French cinema history. It is to the enduring credit of all those involved in production that such a light and disarmingly wonderful romantic comedy was made while the atmosphere was so thick with tumult outside the Billancourt studios.
In essence, the story is relatively straightforward. Micheline Chevassu is a young and naïve girl living in an orphanage who hopes of romance with a handsome young man of her dreams. She corresponds with someone who replies to her ad and quickly falls in love with her imagined ideal of manly beauty. Escaping to meet him at a café, she finds the shy middle-aged Mr Rougemont (Fernand Ledoux) waiting instead. Embarrassed at his deception, he says that the real letter-writer couldn't come. She goes home with him to avoid scandal as he is a well-known professor and she hides there. Mr Rougemont's nephew, Pierre (Louis Jourdan), agrees to play the role of the letter-writing Prince Charming. Cue a most delightful romantic comedy. It all ends happily, of course, but what makes it work so well is the comedic ebullience of Darrieux.
The movie is proficient in every department. It is emblematic of the high quality productions of Continental-Films under the Nazi devotee of French cinema, Alfred Greven. Goebbels oversaw the establishment of Continental-Films in September 1940, with the aim of controlling the French film industry and producing top quality movies featuring the cream of French talent. It appears that Resistance ideology gradually permeated the company and that Goebbels was not content with the lack of restrictions placed on directors by Greven. Darrieux remained in France during the Occupation and was branded a collaborator by the Resistance for entertaining German forces, even receiving death threats.
Directed by her soon-to-be ex-husband Henri Decoin again, this movie is just as funny as the previous year's 'Battement de coeur'. The screenplay by Decoin and Max Kolpe is accomplished and reminiscent of the best screwball comedies of Hollywood. Darrieux is a veritable hoot in her role and her inimitable comedic talents are showcased in several timeless scenes. Watching her order a fancy cocktail in a cheap café and the ensuing consternation it causes is a beauty to behold. Even funnier is the scene where she bounces off the springy bed onto the floor, clad in a scanty nightdress as the professor knocks to bring her breakfast. As Darrieux looked up, peering sheepishly through her ruffled hair, I laughed out loud.
Movies such as this gem are an integral component of French cinema history. It is to the enduring credit of all those involved in production that such a light and disarmingly wonderful romantic comedy was made while the atmosphere was so thick with tumult outside the Billancourt studios.