''Bizarre, Bizarre'' (french: Drôle de drame) is a 1937 French

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include '' Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), '' The Devil's Envoys ...

. It is based on the 1912 novel '' His First Offence'' by

J. Storer Clouston Joseph Storer Clouston OBE (23 May 1870, Cumberland, England – 23 June 1944, Orkney, Scotland) was a Scottish author and historian. Life and work J. S. Clouston, the son of psychiatrist Sir Thomas Clouston, was from an "old Orkney family", ac ...

Plot

At a meeting in London, Bishop Soper denounces scandalous literature, in particular the latest crime novel from Felix Chapel. An invited member of the sparse audience is his cousin Irwin Molyneux, who is asked to speak but is interrupted by William Kramps, a serial murderer of butchers who is on the run. After the meeting ends in uproar, Soper invites himself to dine and sleep at the Molyneux house. This throws Mrs Molyneux into confusion, as her servants have just left her and she, pretending to be called away, cooks the meal while the secretary Eva serves it. Soper finds Molyneux's feeble excuses for his wife's absence bizarre and, once he has gone to bed, Mr and Mrs Molyneux flee to a boarding house in Chinatown, unaware that the next room houses William Kramps. In the morning, finding both now gone, Soper rings Scotland Yard. All London is intrigued by the mystery and a newspaper hires the noted crime writer, Felix Chapel, to investigate. This is Mr Molyneux in a false beard, but he has no idea how to construct a mystery because his plots all come from Eva. She confesses that she is equally clueless, since she gets them from the milkman Billy, who is in love with her. While he is in his own house searching for clues to his wife's disappearance, back in Chinatown she has caught the attention of William Kramps, who woos her with flowers and flattery. When Molyneux arrives and reveals to Kramps that he is the writer Felix Chapel, while the lady is the missing Mrs Molyneux, the two men get happily drunk together and go back to the Molyneux house. There they find Soper disguised as a Scottish soldier, trying to find an incriminating signed photo of a showgirl that he fears he left there, and a sleeping police detective. An angry crowd has gathered outside, wanting to hang the bishop for the murder of Mrs Molyneux. She slips in through the garden, to find William Kramps sleeping off his binge naked beside the pond. Going inside, her husband advises her to hide in a closet for safety. The sleeping detective, who also was drunk, wakes up to say that the body was revealed to him in a dream and, opening the closet, finds Mrs Molyneux. William Kramps comes in to say he has killed Mr Molyneux and is arrested, but assures Mrs Molyneux he will escape. Mr Molyneux decides to stay as Felix Chapel, because it is better paid and more fun.

Cast

Michel Simon Michel Simon (; 9 April 1895 – 30 May 1975) was a Swiss-French actor. He appeared in many notable French films, including ''La Chienne'' (1931), ''Boudu Saved from Drowning'' (1932), ''L'Atalante'' (1934), '' Port of Shadows'' (1938), '' The H ...

as Irwin Molyneux, botany professor, alias Félix Chapel, crime writer *

Françoise Rosay Françoise Rosay (; born Françoise Bandy de Nalèche; 19 April 1891 – 28 March 1974) was a French opera singer, diseuse,''Design'', Volume 9 1965 p. 24 and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure ...

as Margaret Molyneux, his wife *

Louis Jouvet Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker. Early life Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist. He receive ...

as Archibald Soper, bishop of Bedford, his cousin * as Eva, his secretary *

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de guerre 1939–1945, Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Ea ...

as Billy, the milkman in love with Eva *

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundia ...

as William Kramps, the murderer of butchers *

Pierre Alcover Pierre Alcover (14 March 1893 – 14 November 1957) was a French stage and film actor. He starred in 40 films between 1918 and 1943. In 1920 he starred in the film ''Champi-Tortu''. One of his most notable performances was in Marcel L'Herbier' ...

as Inspector Bray of Scotland Yard

References

External links

* * {{Jack the Ripper media French black-and-white films 1937 comedy films French comedy films Films based on British novels Films directed by Marcel Carné Films set in London Films set in the 1900s Films with screenplays by Jacques Prévert 1930s French-language films 1930s French films