''The Virtuous Scoundrel'' (French: ''La Vie d'un honnête homme''), is a 1953 French

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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 and written by Sacha Guitry and starring

Michel Simon Michel Simon (; 9 April 1895 – 30 May 1975) was a Swiss-French actor. He appeared in many notable French films, including ''La Chienne'' (1931), ''Boudu Saved from Drowning'' (1932), ''L'Atalante'' (1934), ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), '' The He ...

Marguerite Pierry Marguerite Pierry (26 December 1887, Paris – 20 January 1963, Paris) was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''On purge bébé'' (1931) * '' The Two Boys'' (1936) * '' The Citadel of Silence'' (1937) * '' Southern Mail'' (1937) * '' Con ...

and Laurence Badie.Crisp p.263 It was shot at Photosonor Studios in

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 ...

and on location in the city. The film's sets were designed by the art director Aimé Bazin.

Synopsis

Two

twin brother Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

s have lived apart for many years. Albert has become a financial success and lives a very rigid life with his family while Alain is a free spirit enjoying a series of adventures travelling the world. After meeting Alain dies from a heart attack and on a spur of the moment Albert changes clothes with him and begins to enjoy his newfound freedom. However his wife, believing herself now to be a widow, attempts to marry who she thinks is Alain as he has inherited all of his brother's wealth.

Cast

as Albert and Alain Ménard-Lacoste *

as Madeleine Lacoste, wife of Albert * Laurence Badie as Juliette Lacoste, the daughter of Albert and Madeleine *

François Guérin François Guérin (1927–2003) was a French film and television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media ...

as Pierre Lacoste, the son of Albert and Madeleine *

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

as Emile, the valet of the Ménard-Lacoste *

Claude Gensac Claude Gensac (1 March 1927 – 27 December 2016) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 70 films and television productions since 1952. Gensac is the oldest nominee to date in the category César Award for Best Supporting Actress, nomi ...

as Evelyne * Léon Walther as Maître Denisot *

Michel Nastorg Michel Nastorg (1914–1984) was a French actor. During World War II he was called into the French army as Soldier Second Class. With the Seventh Army he retreated from Belgium before a fierce German onslaught, and found himself at Dunkirk in J ...

as Le mécanicien * Marthe Salbel as Marie, cousin of Ménard-Lacoste *

Pauline Carton Pauline Carton (4 July 1884 – 17 June 1974) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 190 films between 1907 and 1974. Filmography * ''La fille du Boche'' (1915) * ''Blanchette'' (1921) * ''La femme de nulle part'' (1922) * '' ...

as the patroness of the hotel * Lana Marconi as a prostitute, nicknamed "la comtesse" *

Georges Bever Georges Bever (1884–1973) was a French film and television actor.Goble p.38 Selected filmography * '' The Crystal Submarine '' (1927) * ''The Man in Evening Clothes'' (1931) * '' When Do You Commit Suicide?'' (1931) * ''Fun in the Barracks'' ...

as the taxi driver *

André Brunot André Brunot (3 October 1879 - 6 August 1973) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than twenty films from 1910 to 1966. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunot, Andre 1879 births 1973 deaths French male ...

as the doctor Ogier *

Marcel Pérès Marcel Pérès (born 15 July 1956, Oran, Algeria) is a French musicologist, composer, choral director and singer, and the founder of the early music group Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant. Pérès w ...

as the commissary Vincent * Max Dejean as the innkeeper *

Marcel Mouloudji Marcel André Mouloudji (16 September 1922 – 14 June 1994) was a French singer and actor who was born in Paris and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He sang songs written by Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert. Personal life Mouloudji was born to Algeria ...

as Le chanteur * Sacha Guitry as Self

References

Bibliography

* Crisp, Colin. ''French Cinema—A Critical Filmography: Volume 2, 1940–1958''. Indiana University Press, 2015.

External links

*
La Vie d’un honnête homme (1953)
at the ''Films de France'' 1953 films French comedy-drama films 1953 comedy-drama films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Sacha Guitry Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub