"Paris -Beguin" and its star(Jane Barnac) have fallen into oblivion,yet the movie might possess considerable appeal for fans of Jean Gabin (it was his third movie) ,and to a lesser degree of Fernandel ,who serves ,as it would sometimes be the case later on,as a foil .
A music hall star ,Jane is rehearsing a sketch she does not like in an extravaganza.One night ,like in Tim Hardin's "the lady came from Baltimore",a hoodlum (Gabin)sneaked into the star's desirable mansion,and it goes like this:"he was there to steal her money ,to take her rings and run,then he fell in love with the lady and got away with none" much to his accomplice 's displeasure.He winds up in jail ,charged with murder;only the star could clear him ,because he was in her arms when the crime was committed ,but she's afraid of scandal;fortunately her chamber maid with a big heart comes to her rescue and will tell the police he was in HER room;but ,as in the still to come great works of the thirties'geniuses ,Renoir,Carné and Duvivier,his fate is already sealed and he'll meet with a tragic end Of course there are a lot of music hall acts ,and it's interesting to see the way they used to create a choppy sea ...on stage ;Jane Barnac sings two songs including the title track ;but what really makes her show moving all in all is the way she uses ,à la "actor's studio before its time,her own experience,her own emotions and her own despair to create her final sketch she used to hate so much at the beginning of the movie.
This is old- fashioned stuff for sure,but Gabin's fans should seek it out.
A music hall star ,Jane is rehearsing a sketch she does not like in an extravaganza.One night ,like in Tim Hardin's "the lady came from Baltimore",a hoodlum (Gabin)sneaked into the star's desirable mansion,and it goes like this:"he was there to steal her money ,to take her rings and run,then he fell in love with the lady and got away with none" much to his accomplice 's displeasure.He winds up in jail ,charged with murder;only the star could clear him ,because he was in her arms when the crime was committed ,but she's afraid of scandal;fortunately her chamber maid with a big heart comes to her rescue and will tell the police he was in HER room;but ,as in the still to come great works of the thirties'geniuses ,Renoir,Carné and Duvivier,his fate is already sealed and he'll meet with a tragic end Of course there are a lot of music hall acts ,and it's interesting to see the way they used to create a choppy sea ...on stage ;Jane Barnac sings two songs including the title track ;but what really makes her show moving all in all is the way she uses ,à la "actor's studio before its time,her own experience,her own emotions and her own despair to create her final sketch she used to hate so much at the beginning of the movie.
This is old- fashioned stuff for sure,but Gabin's fans should seek it out.
