''Monsieur Hector'' is a 1940 French

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

based upon the play by

Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing nume ...

, directed by

Maurice Cammage Maurice Cammage is a French film director and dialoguist, born in 1882 and died on 15 April 1946 in Paris. Filmography * 1932 : '' Vive la classe'' * 1932 : '' Un beau jour de noces'' * 1932 : '' La Terreur de la pampa'' (script and dialogues b ...

and starring

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan to ...

Denise Grey Denise Grey (born Édouardine Verthuy; 17 September 1896 – 13 January 1996) was an Italian-born actress who became a naturalized French citizen. Biography Édouardine Grey was born in Châtillon in the Aosta Valley of north-west Italy, clos ...

and Georges Grey.Quinlan p.178 It was shot at the

Neuilly Studios Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as we ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Marcel Magniez Marcel Magniez (born 1888) was a French art director who designed the sets for around forty film productions from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. Soister p.281 Selected filmography * '' Parisian Pleasures'' (1927) * '' My Aunts and I'' (1937 ...

Synopsis

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and his

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

, after disappointments in life, decide to switch clothes and positions during the

Nice Carnival The Nice Carnival (french: Carnaval de Nice) is one of the world's major carnival events, alongside the Brazilian Carnival, Venetian Carnival, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It is held annually in February and sometimes early March (depending ...

Cast

as Hector *

as Maroussia de Dragomir * Georges Grey as Le vicomte de Saint-Amand *

Gaby Wagner Gaby may refer to: People Gaby is short for Gabrielle, Gabriella or Gabriel, and in particular may refer to: * Gaby (singer) (born 1965), Panamanian Reggae en Español and Reggaeton singer and rapper *Gaby, a Spanish clown, one of Los Payasos d ...

as Jacqueline Monturot *

Raymond Rognoni Raymond Rognoni (Paris, 16 August 1892 – Paris, 26 September 1965) was a French actor and comedian. He worked in the theatre and in film (''Sylvie et le fantôme'', ''Les Enfants du Paradis''), sometimes credited as Rognoni. Biography Rognoni wa ...

as Monturot *

Madeleine Suffel Madeleine Suffel (1899–1974) was a French film and stage actress.Palmer & Michael p.274 She played supporting roles in a number of films from the early 1930s onwards. Selected filmography * '' A Rare Bird'' (1935) * '' School for Coquettes'' ( ...

as Suzanne *

Marthe Mussine Marthe may refer to: *Marthe (given name) a feminine given name * ''Marthe'' (novel), an 1876 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans *''Marthe'', an 1877 play by Georges Ohnet * ''Marthe'' (film), a 1997 film by Gérard Jugnot People with the surname *Willi ...

as La femme de chambre *

Alice Deneige Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

as La chanteuse *

Rivers Cadet Rivers Cadet (1 March 1892 – 1 November 1968) was a French actor. Cadet was born Jean Maurice Large in Paris. He was the brother of Fernand Rivers. Selected filmography * '' Maurin of the Moors'' (1932) * '' The Ironmaster'' (1933) * '' Th ...

as Le maître d'hôtel * Marfa d'Hervilly as Une vieille cliente *

Pierre Ferval Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

Suzanne Fleurant Suzanne may refer to: People * Suzanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) * S. U. Zanne, pen name of August Vandekerkhove (1838–1923), Belgian writer and inventor * Suzanne, pen name of Renée Ménd ...

as Une cliente * Édouard Francomme *

Jacques Henley Jacques Henley (born Jacques Dhote) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Our Masters, the Servants'' (1930) * ''The Mystery of the Villa Rose'' (1930) * ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1931) * '' The Yellow Dog'' (1932) * ''The Regiment's Champ ...

as Un client *

Philippe Richard Philippe Richard (24 June 1891 – 24 December 1973) was a French film and theater actor. Richard was born in Saint-Étienne and began his film career in the early 1920s in silent film. In 1948 he starred in the film '' The Lame Devil'' under S ...

as Le gérant * Jean-Jacques Steen *

Jean Témerson Jean Témerson (1898–1956) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''The Lover of Madame Vidal'' (1936) - Guillaume - le domestique * '' With a Smile'' (1936) - Cam (uncredited) * ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937) - Gravère * ''Blanchette'' (193 ...

as Le Baron Grondin *

Eugène Yvernès Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Georges Guétary Georges Guétary (), born Lambros Vorloou ( el, Λάμπρος Βορλόου ; February 8, 1915 – September 13, 1997) was a French singer, dancer, cabaret performer and film actor, best known for his role in the 1951 musical ''An American ...

as Danseur tyrolien

References

Bibliography

* Quinlan, David. ''Quinlan's Film Stars''. Batsford, 2000.

External links

* 1940 films 1940 musical comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Maurice Cammage Films scored by Casimir Oberfeld French musical comedy films French black-and-white films Films shot at Neuilly Studios Tobis Film films Films set in Nice 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub