''Thomas the Impostor'' (french: Thomas l'imposteur) is a 1965 French
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Georges Franju
Georges Franju (; 12 April 1912 – 5 November 1987) was a French filmmaker. He was born in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine.
Biography Early life
Before working in French cinema, Franju held several different jobs. These included working for a ...
and starring
Emmanuelle Riva
Emmanuelle Riva (; 24 February 1927 – 27 January 2017) was a French actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) and '' Amour'' (2012).
Riva was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her role in ''Hiroshima mon ...
,
Fabrice Rouleau,
Sophie Dares,
Jean Marais and
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
. It is based on a novel of the same name by
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...
.
Plot
The film is set during World War I, as Paris is expected to fall to the Germans. The Princesse de Bormes, a widow, helps wounded soldiers by evacuating them from the front and bringing them to her villa in Paris for medical care. However, the authorities will not give the Princess and the soldiers passes to return to Paris. The situation changes when an innocent 16-year-old boy, Guillaume Thomas de Fontenoy, joins the authorities and is mistaken as the nephew of the popular General de Fontenoy. Thomas is able to use his position of posing as the general's nephew to cut through the red tape, in order to help the Princess. She is entranced by Thomas, and her daughter, Henriette, falls in love with him. However, Thomas feels impelled to see more war action. Later, he is caught behind enemy lines when he is moved with a military unit into the heat of battle.
Cast
*
Emmanuelle Riva
Emmanuelle Riva (; 24 February 1927 – 27 January 2017) was a French actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) and '' Amour'' (2012).
Riva was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her role in ''Hiroshima mon ...
– Princesse de Bormes
*
Jean Servais
Jean Servais (; 24 September 1910 – 17 February 1976) was a Belgian film and stage actor. He acted in many 20th century French cinema productions, from the 1930s through the early 1970s.
He was married to Gilberte Graillot, and later act ...
– Pasquel-Duport
*
Fabrice Rouleau – Guillaume Thomas de Fontenoy
*
Sophie Darès – Henriette
*
Michel Vitold – Dr. Vernes
*
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
*
Jean-Roger Caussimon
Jean-Roger Caussimon (24 July 1918 – 19 October 1985) was a French singer-songwriter and film actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1945 and 1985 but is better known for having worked with poet-singer Léo Ferré.
Discography Studio albu ...
– Bishop
*
Edouard Dermithe – Captain Roy
*
Hélène Dieudonné
Helene or Hélène may refer to: People
*Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name
* Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda
*Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis
* Helene (A ...
– Thomas' aunt
*
Gabrielle Dorziat
Gabrielle Dorziat (1880–1979) was a French stage and film actress. Dorziat was a fashion trend setter in Paris and helped popularize the designs of Coco Chanel. The Théâtre Gabrielle-Dorziat in Épernay, France is named for her.
Biography
...
– Cartomancienne
*
Bernard Lavalette
Bernard Lavalette (20 January 1926 – 14 December 2019) was a French film and television actor.Ince p.164
Partial filmography
* ''Sans famille'' (1958) - Le brigadier
* '' The Bureaucrats'' (1959) - Van Der Hogen
* ''La Belle Américaine'' (1 ...
– Dr. Gentil
*
Jean Magis – Pagot
*
Jean Marais – Narrator (voice)
*
André Méliès – Elderly man at the ball
*
Jean Ozenne
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
*
Christian Scheyder – Young priest
*
Édith Scob
Édith Scob (21 October 1937 – 26 June 2019) was a French film and theatre actress, best known for her role as the daughter with a disfigured face in '' Eyes Without a Face'' (1960).
Early life and family
Scob was born Édith Helena Vladimirov ...
– Nurse
*
Rosy Varte
Rosy Varte (22 November 1923 – 14 January 2012) was a French actress of Armenian descent. She made more than 100 film and television appearances during her career.
She starred in the 1972 film ''The Bar at the Crossing'', which was enter ...
– Mme. Valiche
Release
''Thomas the Impostor'' was released in France on 5 May 1965.
Reception
In a contemporary review from the ''
Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...
'', noted that film treated war as "fantasy" with Franju's film as being an "almost fairy-tale fantasy of figures moving in a mystical land where everything seems predetermined" and noted that "Emmanuele Riva gives a hauntingly beautiful performance as the Princess, and Fabrice Rouleau looks exactly right as Thomas; and the commentary, finely spoken by Jean Marais, is for once in accord with the images and mood of the film."
The review concluded that "Franju has captured the spirit of Cocteau's novel, the point at which the surface glamour of war becomes the awful reality of its suffering."
References
External links
*
*
1965 films
Films based on works by Jean Cocteau
French black-and-white films
1965 drama films
Films directed by Georges Franju
Films set on the French home front during World War I
Western Front (World War I) films
Films set in Paris
Films with screenplays by Jean Cocteau
1960s French films
{{1960s-France-film-stub