''The Man Who Seeks the Truth'' (French: ''L'homme qui cherche la vérité'') is a 1940 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

Alexander Esway Alexander Esway (20 January 1895 – 23 August 1947) was a Hungarian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer. Life and career Esway was born Sándor Ezry in Budapest. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he worked as a director and screenwrit ...

and starring

Raimu Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César''). Life and career Born in T ...

Yvette Lebon Yvette Lebon (14 August 1910 – 28 July 2014) was a French actress. Biography Lebon studied music and art before going into acting. During World War II, she was the mistress of Jean Luchaire, a French journalist and press baron executed after ...

and

André Alerme André Alerme (9 September 1877 – 31 January 1960) was a French actor. Alerme was born Marie André Alerme in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France and died at the age of 82 in Montrichard, Loir-et-Cher, France. Selected filmography * ''Black and Wh ...

.Rège p.368 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 ...

Henri Ménessier Henri Ménessier (1 October 1882 – 1948) was a French artist and art director.Stephens p.212 Selected filmography * ''The Virtuous Model'' (1919) * ''The Orchid Dancer'' (1928) * ''The Pure Truth'' (1931) * ''Monsieur Albert'' (1932) * '' Dora ...

. In 1945 it was loosely remade in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

as '' Bring on the Girls'' starring

Veronica Lake Constance Frances Marie Ockelman (November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973), known professionally as Veronica Lake, was an American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd ...

Synopsis

In order to discover what his friends, family and colleagues really think about him Jean Vernet, a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, feigns

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

so he can overhear conversations. He is shocked to discover that his previously happy existence is built on lies. Amongst them is the fact that his long-standing

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

Jacqueline is now the lover of his own

godson In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

Fernand.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* * 1940 films 1940 comedy films French comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Alexander Esway French black-and-white films 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub