''French Without Tears'' is a 1939 British

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

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...

and starring Ray Milland. It was based on the 1936 play of the same name by

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

, who also co-wrote the script. An on-off working relationship between Asquith and Rattigan began with this film and continued over the next 15 years.

Plot

The love affairs are depicted of three young Englishmen at a language "cramming" school in the south of France. Diana, the sister of one of the boys, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates.

Cast

* Ray Milland as Alan Howard *

Ellen Drew Ellen Drew (born Esther Loretta Ray; November 23, 1914 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress. Early life Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her ...

as Diana Lake * Janine Darcey as Jacqueline Maingot * David Tree as Chris Neilan *

Roland Culver Roland Joseph Culver, (31 August 1900 – 1 March 1984) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Life and career After Highgate School, he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot from 1918 to 1919. After considering other c ...

as Cmdr. Bill Rogers * Guy Middleton as Brian Curtis * Kenneth Morgan as Kenneth Lake * Margaret Yarde as Marianne * Toni Gable as Chi-Chi *

Jim Gérald Jim Gérald (4 July 1889 – 2 July 1958) was a French actor. Gérald was born Gérald Ernest Cuénod in Paris. He died in Paris in 1958. Selected filmography * ''La légende de soeur Béatrix'' (1923) - Un soudard * ''The Imaginary Voyage' ...

as Professor Maingot *

Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' sta ...

as Himself - Orchestra Leader

Critical reception

Sky Movies described a "sparkling version of Terence Rattigan's comedy play. The import of Ellen Drew and Ray Milland from Hollywood ensured the film's success world-wide." Writing for Allmovie, Hal Erickson wrote, "much of the wit and zest of the original stage production has been blunted for the screen, moving one critic to describe ''French Without Tears'' as 'Comedy Without Laughs'. In all fairness, however, the film does boast a hilarious drunk scene in a musty old French wine cellar."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:French Without Tears 1939 films 1939 comedy films British black-and-white films British films based on plays British comedy films Films based on works by Terence Rattigan Films directed by Anthony Asquith Films with screenplays by Terence Rattigan Films with screenplays by Anatole de Grunwald Films with screenplays by Ian Dalrymple Films set in France Two Cities Films films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films