''A Dog's Life'' (French: ''Une vie de chien'') is a 1943 French

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Maurice Cammage Maurice Cammage is a French film director and dialoguist, born in 1882 and died on 15 April 1946 in Paris. Filmography * 1932 : '' Vive la classe'' * 1932 : '' Un beau jour de noces'' * 1932 : '' La Terreur de la pampa'' (script and dialogues ...

and starring

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French comic actor. Born in Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, a town located in th ...

, Josseline Gaël and

Félicien Tramel Félicien Tramel, often known simply as Tramel, (1880–1948) was a French film actor.Goble p.113 Selected filmography * '' The Crime of Bouif'' (1922) * '' The Crystal Submarine'' (1927) * '' The Mystery of the Eiffel Tower'' (1928) * '' The Bes ...

. It was shot in 1941 but its release was delayed.Rège p.167 It was made at the Marseille Studios in the

Unoccupied Zone The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered by ...

of France. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Robert Giordani Robert Giordani (1902-1981) was a French art director.Pirolini p.182 He designed the sets for more than eighty productions during his career. Selected filmography * '' The Italian Straw Hat'' (1941) * '' The Crossroads'' (1942) * ''Promise to a S ...

Synopsis

Gustave Bourdillon is a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

in a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls. When the

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

dies, Gustave courts his much younger widow Émilie Calumet. However she is convinced that her husband has returned to earth as a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

and dotes on it. Gustave sets out to win her over, going so far as to disguise himself as a woman in order to take an examination on her behalf.

Cast

as Gustave Bourdillon * Josseline Gaël as Émilie Calumet *

as Triboule *

Jean-Pierre Kérien Jean-Pierre Kérien (15 March 1912 – 9 April 1984) was a French film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1937 and 1979. Filmography References External links * 1912 births 1984 deaths French male film actors 20th-century Fr ...

as Grégorius * Francis Claude as Galloche *

Thérèse Dorny Thérèse Dorny (born Thérèse Jeanne Longo-Dorni; 18 September 1891 – 14 March 1976) was a French film and stage actress. Biography Thérèse Jeanne Longo-Dorni was born on 18 September 1891 in Paris, Île-de-France, France, the only child ...

as Léocadie *

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 Calumet *

Édouard Delmont Édouard Delmont (5 December 1883 – 22 November 1955) was a French actor born Édouard Marius Autran in Marseille. He died in Cannes at age 72. Filmography *1930 : ''L'Arlésienne (1930 film), L'Arlésienne'' de Jacques de Baroncelli *1930 ...

as Tournemire * Médor as Le chien *

Gaston Orbal Gaston Orbal (1898–1983) was a French stage and film actor.Lorcey p.244 Selected filmography * '' Dédé'' (1935) * ''Tricoche and Cacolet'' (1938) * '' My Aunt the Dictator'' (1939) * '' Tobias Is an Angel'' (1940) * '' The Suitors Club'' (194 ...

as Truphème * Jean Pouzet as Postiche

References

Bibliography

* Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. * Siclier, Jacques. ''La France de Pétain et son cinéma''. H. Veyrier, 1981.

External links

* 1943 films French comedy films 1943 comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Maurice Cammage French black-and-white films 1940s French films French-language comedy films {{1940s-France-film-stub