Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Man About Town - Rene Clair (1947)

American version of a 1947 French romantic comedy by Rene Claire. Unusual in the manner in which the French language is adapted for the American audience. Rather than use dubbing or subtitles, the film is framed by the star, Maurice Chevalier, appear on a movie theater stage introducing the film to an audience. The film begins playing on this movie theater within a film with the French credits (the original title is "Le silence est d'or"). The film plays out with all actors speaking in French, but Chevalier interrupts with a voice-over narration occasionally to explain what they are saying, almost like a voice of God speaking on top of the players. Tedious and confusing when the actors speak more lines than Chevalier can keep up with.

Also interesting in that the film depicts a turn of the century silent film studio.

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