The French, They Are a Funny Race
Encyclopedia
The French, They Are a Funny Race, known in France as Les Carnets du Major Thompson (The Trophies of Major Thompson) and in the U.K. as The Diary of Major Thompson, is a 1955 comedy film
written and directed by Preston Sturges
, based on the novel by Pierre Daninos
. It stars Jack Buchanan
and Martine Carol
.
This was the last film directed by Preston Sturges.
) is a crusty, middle-aged English officer, retired and widowed and living in Paris, who tries to adjust to the French way of life. He falls in love with frivolous but alluring Martine (Martine Carol
), and then marries her. The question is, will their child be raised as a proper Englishman, or a swinging Frenchman?
Cast notes:
had come to Paris in hopes of reviving his career, which had hit the skids in Hollywood after his partnership with Howard Hughes
dissolved in acrimony. He did some work on Broadway
, wrote the screenplay for an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw
's The Millionairess
which Katharine Hepburn
, who had performed in the play in New York, wanted to get produced, and then came to France where, because he was fluent in French, he was able to write and direct the screenplay for this adaptation of Pierre Daninos
popular novel.
The film was released in France on 9 December 1955, but Sturges did some additional polishing of it for the American audience, and it was not released in the United States until 20 May 1957, when it premiered in New York City
, the final American opening of Sturges' film career.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
, based on the novel by Pierre Daninos
Pierre Daninos
Pierre Daninos was a French writer and humorist.Daninos wrote Les carnets du Major Thompson, which was published in 1954, and was followed by many sequels. The books in the series pretended to be the observations of a retired British officer living in France, and were witty collections of...
. It stars Jack Buchanan
Jack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
and Martine Carol
Martine Carol
-Biography:Born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, , she studied acting under René Simon , making her stage debut in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the most beautiful women in film, she was frequently cast as an elegant blonde seductress...
.
This was the last film directed by Preston Sturges.
Plot
Major Thompson (Jack BuchananJack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
) is a crusty, middle-aged English officer, retired and widowed and living in Paris, who tries to adjust to the French way of life. He falls in love with frivolous but alluring Martine (Martine Carol
Martine Carol
-Biography:Born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, , she studied acting under René Simon , making her stage debut in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the most beautiful women in film, she was frequently cast as an elegant blonde seductress...
), and then marries her. The question is, will their child be raised as a proper Englishman, or a swinging Frenchman?
Cast
- Jack BuchananJack BuchananWalter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
as Maj. Thompson - Martine CarolMartine Carol-Biography:Born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, , she studied acting under René Simon , making her stage debut in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the most beautiful women in film, she was frequently cast as an elegant blonde seductress...
as Martine - Noël-NoëlNoël-NoëlNoël-Noël was a French actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 45 films between 1931 and 1966.-Selected filmography:* A Cage of Nightingales * Mr. Orchid * Return to Life...
as M. Taupin - Totti Truman TaylorTotti Truman TaylorTotti Truman Taylor is a British actress who was born in London, England. In 1953, she played Aunt Sally in the BBC television series Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective.-Selected filmography:...
as Miss Fyfyth, the nurse - Catherine Boyl as Ursula
- André Luguet as M. Fusillard, the editor
- Geneviève Brunet as Secretary
- Paulette DubostPaulette DubostPaulette Dubost was a French actress who began her career at the age of 7 at the Paris Opera.She appeared in over 250 films and worked with such directors as Jean Renoir, Jacques Tourneur, Marcel Carné, Julien Duvivier, Preston Sturges and Max Ophüls. One of her most famous roles was as Lisette in...
as Mme. Taupin
Cast notes:
- Although Jack Buchanan was Scottish, he often played very EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
characters. He was dying of cancer at the time this film was made. - Noël-NoëlNoël-NoëlNoël-Noël was a French actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 45 films between 1931 and 1966.-Selected filmography:* A Cage of Nightingales * Mr. Orchid * Return to Life...
was a French comic actor of some note at the time the film was made.
Production
Preston SturgesPreston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
had come to Paris in hopes of reviving his career, which had hit the skids in Hollywood after his partnership with Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
dissolved in acrimony. He did some work on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, wrote the screenplay for an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's The Millionairess
The Millionairess
The Millionairess is a 1960 British romantic comedy film set in London, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers...
which Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, who had performed in the play in New York, wanted to get produced, and then came to France where, because he was fluent in French, he was able to write and direct the screenplay for this adaptation of Pierre Daninos
Pierre Daninos
Pierre Daninos was a French writer and humorist.Daninos wrote Les carnets du Major Thompson, which was published in 1954, and was followed by many sequels. The books in the series pretended to be the observations of a retired British officer living in France, and were witty collections of...
popular novel.
The film was released in France on 9 December 1955, but Sturges did some additional polishing of it for the American audience, and it was not released in the United States until 20 May 1957, when it premiered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the final American opening of Sturges' film career.