Prince de minuit (1935)

movie

Country: France
Genres: Comedy, Romance
Release: 1934-11-02
Director: René Guissart
Writers: Paul Pauley , Jacques de Bénac
Language: French
Stars: Henri Garat , Henri Garat , Monique Rolland , Paul Pauley , Pierre Juvenet , Edith Méra , Robert Pizani , Palau , Jeanne Fusier-Gir , Catherine Fonteney , Jean Gobet
Runtime: 100 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: O Príncipe da Meia-Noite (Portugal, Portuguese Republic) , Midnight Prince (United States of America) , Gece Bülbülü (Turkey) , De middernacht prins (Netherlands the) , Prince de minuit , Prince de minuit (France, French Republic) , O prigips tou mesonyktiou (Greece) , Lune de miel (France, French Republic) , Le prince de minuit , De middernacht-prins (Netherlands the) , Glück (Switzerland, Swiss Confederation)
Plot: A charming musical,sparkling with wit like champagne which flows like water.Henri Garat,himself a crooner,was a specialist of the genre.Henri Leroy leads a double life,or more like ,he is forced to have two jobs ,to make ends meets.By day ,he is a clerk in a records shop,which is interesting because it shows us that kind of place when the 78 used to reign on the gramophones ,a long time before LPs and SPs ;now that the CDs may disappear ,replaced by downloading,who knows if there will be records shops in the future?And this shop in the mid-thirties had an auditorium ,where you can cut your own record,like Elvis did for his mother in the fifties,but with more sophisticated paraphernalia.By night,he becomes a Professional ballroom dancing host ;his shrewd boss has asked him to pass himself off as a prince to launch his night club ,and to attract the female clientèle :some kind of male Cinderella (check the title);This is as light as champagne but it is much fun to watch:the clerk,kissing the shop's owner's daughter ,and forgetting to open whereas a queue is waiting outside;this girl is rapturous about her dad's employee ,which infuriates the fat man:Paul Pauley was an obese actor and often served as a foil to the handsome Young lead;the handsome dancer,mistaken for a genuine prince by some aristocrats from "Palestria" ,an imaginary land ,who want him back on the throne;the real prince ,who wants to be left alone ,smoking cigarettes ,far way from politics....Pauley ,who begins to think her daughter may become a princess nay a queen ,and kowtows to his clerk...The lines are worthwhile ,displaying a Sacha Guitry influence:A posh gentleman to his wife : -Because you cheated on me with a prince ,it enhanced my prestige and I feel great!-I never did so.-What a pity! really too bad!
IMDB:tt0202532