Fernand clochard (1957)

movie

(15)

Country: France
Genres: N/A
Release: 1957-08-14
Director: Pierre Chevalier
Writers: Jean-Pierre Feydeau
Language: French
Stars: Fernand Raynaud , Renée Devillers , Magali Vendeuil , Jean-Marc Tennberg , Colette Castel , Paul-Emile Deiber , René Berthier , Jacqueline Doyen , Germaine Delbat , Paul Mercey
Runtime: 92 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: Fernand clochard , Fernand clochard (France, French Republic) , Fernand the Tramp (United States of America) , Fernand clochard (Canada)
Plot: Fernand Reynaud was a famous stand-up comic whose best sketches ("Le 22 A Anières"..) have remained memorable .Pierre Chevalier was his regular director and with "Fernand Vagabond" ,began a long series of movies with Reynaud ("Le Sicilien" "LA Marraine De Charley") ;by keeping the actor's first name,both men were trying to create a character (like Chaplin,or in France ,Leonce Perret)as they used to do in a silent era.He would keep "Fernand " for a handful of movies later on.The beginning of the movie is pleasant : the tramp on the road,with his faithful dog "Brigadier " who helps him wash his dirty linen -the washerwomen ,at the river,is a delightful thing of the past-, then the jewels ("it's fake " says the cop).Afterwards,things go downhill ;the screenplay is devoid of interest ,and why didn't they ask their actor to write his own lines? That would have meant a better movie.The subject is hackneyed : "a tramp is not meant to live in an hypocrit society " and he'd better hit the road again" had been treated before and Chevalier's flick does not renew it.The approach is too gentle here anyway ,one is far from Renoir's "Boudu" .Besides the "happy-go-lucky " Clochard (tramp) is a cliché ;nowadays ,the word tends to become obsolete and is replaced by Sans Abri "homeless" ,who are not exactly rolling in happiness .
IMDB:tt0157630