Du mouron pour les petits oiseaux

Du mouron pour les petits oiseaux (1963)

15 Feb 1963 • Comedy • 1h 49m
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Considering the overall negative tone of the only available review , I felt this film deserved a more generous opinion. Okay this is not Les Enfants du Paradis, even Hôtel du Nord, yet it is never boring and on the contrary quite amusing due to excellent actors and very good dialogs by Jacques Sigurd. It is a good comedy, but with far better cinematography than most french comedies of the time - Carné of course.The cast is a delight for connoisseurs of the french stage of the time, mixing the well established stars Meurisse (one of the few french actors whose mere presence makes a film worth viewing), Jean Richard and Suzy Delair, with a younger one Dany Saval absolutely excellent here thanks again to lines written by Sigurd, and a basketful of always pleasant "second rôles" Jeanne Fusier-Gir, Roland Lesaffre, Robert Dalban and others. Special mention to Jean Paredes as a lustful old guy mailing telegrams to himself in order to get visits by postmen, hopefully young and obliging - but rather unfortunate in getting both qualities together.The film is also a great document for lovers of the Old Paris, still alive then but for very few years. Most of the action is set in the Quartier Latin on the Place de la Contrescarpe, then a popular neighbourhood with miserable hotels sheltering poor students, tramps and emigrates, now one of the most expensive areas in Paris and a tourist trap.In conclusion, a useful guideline to inexperienced viewers of french films from the 50-60s : a supposedly bad Carné (or Duvivier) will always be more rewarding than a supposedly good Truffaut (or Godard).

Marcel Carné
Director
Marcel Carné, Jacques Sigurd
Writer
Paul Meurisse, Dany Saval, Suzy Delair
Starring

Language: French
Awards:
Country: France, Italy
Metacritic Score:
DVD Release Date:
Box Office Total:

6.0

IMDb (123 votes)
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