...Un ami viendra ce soir... (1946)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Raymond Bernard

Writers:

Jacques Companéez (screenplay)
Jacques Companéez (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

10 April 1946 (France)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Based On Play

Cast

Michel Simon	...	Michel Lemaret
Madeleine Sologne	...	Hélène Asselin
Paul Bernard	...	Le docteur Maurice Tiller
Louis Salou	...	Le commissaire Louis Martin
Saturnin Fabre	...	Philippe Prunier
Marcel André	...	Le docteur Lestrade
Lily Mounet	...	Alexandrine Jeanne Constance Létitia, baronne de Pontignac
Yvette Andréyor	...	Mademoiselle Béatrice
Jacques Clancy	...	Jacques Leroy, le pianiste
Daniel Gélin	...	Pierre Ribault
Claude Lehmann	...	Le docteur Pigaut
Cécilia Paroldi	...	Claire, la postière
Howard Vernon	...	Robert Langlois, le muet
Jane Marny	...	Madame Belin (as Jeanne Marny)
Raoul Marco	...	Le maire

Also Known As:

A Friend Will Come Tonight (USA)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis Klangfilm) | Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Francinex

Trivia:

French censorship visa #684 delivered on 30 January 1946.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Oi Germanoi xanarhontai... (1948)

Madness inside ...and madness outside....

"Un Ami Viendra Ce Soir" is Raymond Bernard's most ambitious film.Today ,it is looked upon,by most French critics as an extravaganza,a minor -albeit with a major potential- work.

"Un Ami" ,despite some reservations (the second part looks like filmed stage production and the Madeleine Sologne/Paul Bernard pairing does not work very well),deserves to be seen.

The action takes place in WW2 in occupied France. The first part might disturb someone who is not familiar with the subject;a man ,Michel Simon,,whose behavior and words seem completely insane ,meets a lady pushing an empty baby carriage all over the park. We are in an insane asylum.Resistant fighters hide there,with their leader ,Commandant Gerard whose identity they all ignore.Who is crazy?Who is a true fighter?These first scenes are downright disturbing ,it's a dialog of the deaf :some pretends they are crazy and talk nonsense ;some are really crazy and talk nonsense.A musician uses music notes to communicate .And Radio London adds to the confusion with its coded messages "The rhino is blowing soap bubbles /The kangaroo is dancing in the meadow",which make sense not only to the impostors but also to the madmen (I'm going to my Republic with the kangaroo" says Lunatic Michel Simon,a hippie of the forties,who could not stand evil).And there is also the German language,almost nobody understands.

The second part is not as successful as the first one and there are historical mistakes: at the time,no one knew what happened in the concentration camps; the American and Russian soldiers discovered the horror of those places in 1945 only when Germany fell in their hands. No one in France knew about the crematories and the word is uttered though.They seem to know all the details about the horrible things which the Nazis were doing there. However,there is enough suspense to sustain the interest till the last minutes,in spite of Madeleine Sologne's histrionic performance ;besides this blonde actress ,with her "Aryan " look,is supposed to be a Jew.

Like this ?Try this.....

"Le Roi de Coeur" Philippe de Broca 1966