''The Heroic Monsieur Boniface'' (French: ''L'Héroïque Monsieur Boniface'') is a 1949 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 Labro Maurice Labro (21 September 1910 – 23 March 1987) was a French film director. Filmography * 1947 in the movies, 1947: ' * 1948 in the movies, 1948: ''Three Boys, One Girl'' * 1949 in the movies, 1949: ''The Heroic Monsieur Boniface'' * 195 ...

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 ...

Andrex Andrex is a British brand of toilet roll. It is owned by the United States, American company Kimberly-Clark. The "Andrex Puppy", a Labrador Retriever puppy that appears on the company's television advertisements, is synonymous with the brand. T ...

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 ...

and

Liliane Bert Liliane Bert (1922-2015) was a French film and television actress.Hayward p.146 Selected filmography * '' The Blue Veil'' (1942) * ''We Are Not Married'' (1946) * '' Four Knaves'' (1947) * '' Colonel Durand'' (1948) * '' Sergil and the Dictator'' ...

.Rège p.582 It was shot at the Photosonor Studios in

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 ...

Jacques Colombier Jacques Colombier is a French politician and a member of National Front (France), National Front. As the FN's top candidate in Aquitaine in the 2004 French regional elections, 2004 regional elections he won 11.45% of the votes in the first round ...

. It was followed by a 1951 sequel '' The Sleepwalker''.

Synopsis

Boniface, a shy

window dresser Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as " window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for departme ...

, finds himself caught up in a murder case, and decides to tackle the

gang leader A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

behind the killing. They in turn kidnaps Boniface's girlfriend Irene.

Cast

as Boniface *

as Charlie *

as M. Simon *

Charles Bouillaud Charles Bouillaud (11 May 1904 – 12 June 1965) was a French actor. Selected filmography {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouillaud, Charles 1904 births 1965 deaths French male stage actors French male film actors French male television actors 20th-cen ...

as Le troisième gangster *

Palmyre Levasseur Palmyre Levasseur (24 December 1888 – 4 August 1963) was a French stage and film actress.Aping p.234 Selected filmography * '' Culprit'' (1937) * '' The Fraudster'' (1937) * ''Tricoche and Cacolet'' (1938) * ''The Postmaster's Daughter'' (1938) ...

as La logeuse *

Julien Maffre Julien may refer to: People * Julien (given name) * Julien (surname) Music * ''Julien'' (opera), a 1913 poème lyrique by Gustave Charpentier * ''Julien'' (album), by Dalida, 1973 * "Julien" (song), by Carly Rae Jepsen, 2019 Places Un ...

as Le lampiste *

Albert Malbert Albert Malbert (1914–1972) was a French film actor.Goble p.66 Selected filmography * '' The Crisis is Over'' (1934) * '' Return to Paradise'' (1935) * '' Bach the Detective'' (1936) * ''Moutonnet'' (1936) * ''The Brighton Twins'' (1936) * '' Cu ...

as Le bistrot *

Max Révol Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

as Le chef de gare *

Francis Salabert Francis Salabert (born François-Joseph-Charles Salabert, 27 July 1884 – 28 December 1946) was an innovative and influential French music publisher, who was the head of Éditions Salabert in the first half of the twentieth century. Biography ...

as Le commissaire *

Michel Ardan ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' () is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an en ...

as Le deuxième gangster * Yves Deniaud as Le premier gangster *

as Irène

References

Bibliography

* Rège, Philippe . ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1949 films French comedy films 1949 comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Maurice Labro 1940s French films Films scored by Louiguy {{1940s-France-film-stub