''At Your Command, Madame'' (French: ''À vos ordres, Madame'') is a 1942 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 Jean Boyer and starring

Jean Tissier Jean Tissier (1896–1973) was a French stage, film and television actor.Goble p.440 A prolific actor, he had more than two hundred fifty appearances on screen during his career. He was married to the actress Georgette Tissier. Selected filmogr ...

Suzanne Dehelly Suzanne Dehelly (1896–1968) was a French film actress.Greco p.189 Selected filmography * '' Graziella'' (1926) - Graziella * '' A Hole in the Wall'' (1930) - La couturière * ''La prison en folie'' (1931) - Cléo d'Argyl * ''Tout s'arrange'' ...

and

Jacqueline Gauthier Jacqueline Gauthier (7 October 1921 – 18 September 1982) was a French stage and film actress.Goble p.115 Selected filmography * '' Louise'' (1939) * ''The Woman I Loved Most'' (1942) * '' At Your Command, Madame'' (1942) * '' The Newspaper ...

. It is based on a story by

André Birabeau André Birabeau (6 December 1890 – 1 October 1974) was a French novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Novels and short stories * ''La débauche'' (1924), English trans. ''Revelation'' (1930). Cited as the first novel about a homosexual man f ...

.Goble p.41 It was made by

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

at the company's

Francoeur Studios The Francoeur Studios are film production studios in Paris. In 1926 Bernard Natan's Rapid Films set up production at the location, before in 1929 it was merged with the Pathé conglomerate under Natan's overall control. In the postwar era it was ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 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 ...

Lucien Aguettand Lucien Aguettand (19 January 1901 – 14 December 1989) was a French art directorHayward p.205 who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Little Devil May Care'' (1928) * ''Checkmate'' (1931) * ...

Synopsis

When their car breaks down in the country, a couple have to stay at a nearby

luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suite (hotel), suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a d ...

. Despite being well-off, the miserly wife takes advantage of a special offer to get her husband a cheap room by pretending he is her

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

while taking an expensive one for herself as a "

baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight ...

". Complications ensue however when a

chambermaid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

begins to fall for her husband, while she herself is courted by one of the guests.

Cast

as Hector Dupuis *

as Odette Dupuis *

as Angèle *

Jacques Louvigny Jacques Louvigny (1884–1951) was a French stage and film actor.Hayward p.241 Selected filmography * '' Delphine'' (1931) * ''On purge bébé'' (1931) * '' Fanfare of Love'' (1935) * '' The Squadron's Baby'' (1935) * ''The Lover of Madame Vidal' ...

as Monsieur Palureau *

Albert Duvaleix Albert Duvaleix (1893-1962) was a French stage and film actor.Bessy & Chirat p.138 A character actor he appeared in a number of supporting roles in French comedies and drama films. His son Christian Duvaleix also became an actor. Selected filmog ...

as Le portier *

Gaby Wagner Gaby may refer to: People Gaby is short for Gabrielle, Gabriella or Gabriel, and in particular may refer to: *Gaby (singer) (born 1965), Panamanian Reggae en Español and Reggaeton singer and rapper *Gaby Aghion (1921–2014), French fashion des ...

as La cocotte du 27 *

Pierre Labry Pierre Labry (1885–1948) was a French stage actor, stage and film actor.Capua p.122 He was active in the French film industry between 1920 and 1948, appearing in more than a hundred films. Selected filmography * ''La croisade'' (1920) * ''Gigo ...

as Le mécanicien-chef *

Jean-Louis Allibert Jean-Louis Allibert (1897–1979) was a French film and television actor.Gmür p.72 He is sometimes also known as Louis Allibert. Selected filmography * ''Paris'' (1924) * ''Monte Carlo'' (1925) * ''The Painter and His Model'' (1925) * ''Saint Jo ...

as Le directeur de l'hôtel *

Nane Germon Nane Germon (1909–2001) was a French television and film actress.Goble p.330 Selected filmography * ''Coup de feu à l'aube'' (1932) * ''A Weak Woman'' (1933) * ''Le rayon des amours'' (1933) - Nicole * ''Les aventures du roi Pausole'' (1933) ...

as Léa *

Gaston Modot Gaston Modot (31 December 1887 – 20 February 1970) was a French actor. For more than 50 years he performed for the cinema working with a number of great French directors. Biography Modot lived in Montmartre at the beginning of the 20th cen ...

as Le garçon d'étage *

Léonce Corne Léonce Charles Corne (18 March 1894 – 31 December 1977) was a French film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1931 and 1974. Selected filmography * '' The Girl and the Boy'' (1931) * ''Luck'' (1931) * '' Rouletabille the Aviator'' ( ...

as Victor * Agnès Raynal as Rose Palureau *

Alfred Adam Alfred Roger Adam (4 April 1908 – 7 May 1982) was a French stage and film character actor, who usually played weak or villainous roles. Selected filmography *''Speedway'' (1929) - Doctor (uncredited) *'' La Kermesse Héroïque'' (1935) - Jos ...

as Ferdinand - le chauffeur de Palureau

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1942 films French comedy films 1942 comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Jean Boyer Pathé films Films shot at Francoeur Studios 1940s French films Films scored by Georges Van Parys {{1940s-France-film-stub