''Le petit café'' is a 1931 French-language American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

musical film directed by Ludwig Berger and starring Maurice Chevalier,

Yvonne Vallée Yvonne Vallée (February 21, 1899 – June 15, 1996) was a French people, French actress. Life She was born Marguerite Yvonne Vallee in Bordeaux in 1899. Vallée was the wife of Maurice Chevalier from 1927 to 1933. She died in Vallauris, France ...

and

Tania Fédor Tania Fédor (3 November 1905 – 1 December 1985) was a French actress who played a number of leading roles during the 1930s and early 1940s in films such as '' Fantômas'' (1932).Hardy p.125 She later settled in Canada where she worked on Fren ...

. The film is a

foreign-language version A multiple-language version film, often abbreviated to MLV, is a film, especially from the early talkie era, produced in several different languages for international markets. To offset the marketing restrictions of making sound films in only one ...

of the 1930 film ''

Playboy of Paris ''Playboy of Paris'' is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Ludwig Berger and starring Maurice Chevalier, Frances Dee (in her film debut), and O.P. Heggie. It was based on a 1911 play '' The Little Cafe'' by Tristan Bernard ...

'', which was based on the play '' The Little Cafe'' by

Tristan Bernard Tristan Bernard (7 September 1866 – 7 December 1947) was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer. Life He studied law, and after his military service, he started his career as the manager of an aluminium smelter. In the 1890s, ...

. Multiple-language versions were common in the years following the introduction of

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, before the practice of

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

became widespread. It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

. The film received a better reception from critics than the English-language version had.Bradley p.119

Synopsis

Albert Loriflan, a waiter in a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, unexpectedly inherits a large sum of money from a wealthy relative. His unscrupulous boss, Philibert, refuses to release him from his long-term

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

in the hope that Albert will buy him off with a large payment. But Albert refuses, and continues to work at the cafe even though he is now very rich. Before long he falls in love with Philibert's daughter Yvonne.

Cast

* Maurice Chevalier as Albert Lorifian *

as Yvonne Philibert *

as Mademoiselle Berengère *

André Berley André Berley (13 January 1890 – 26 November 1936) was a French actor. Berley was born André Edmond Obrecht in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Selected filmography * ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (1928) * '' Olimpia'' (1930) * '' The ...

as Pierre Bourdin *

Emile Chautard Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

as Philibert * Françoise Rosay as Mademoiselle Edwige * George Davis as Paul Michel * Jacques Jou-Jerville as M. Cadeaux * André Baugé * Sonia Sebor

References

Bibliography

* Bradley, Edwin M. ''The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography Of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932''. McFarland, 2004.

External links

* * 1931 films American musical comedy films 1931 musical comedy films 1930s French-language films American multilingual films Films directed by Ludwig Berger American films based on plays Paramount Pictures films Films set in Paris American black-and-white films Films shot at Joinville Studios 1931 multilingual films 1930s American films {{musical-comedy-film-stub