Quadrille (1938)

The battle of the sexes as drawing room social satire. Philippe, a middle-aged newspaper editor, has lived for six years with Paulette, a successful stage actress. He tells her friend ... See full summary »

Director:

Sacha Guitry

Writer:

Sacha Guitry

Stars:

Sacha Guitry, Gaby Morlay, Jacqueline Delubac

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sacha Guitry	...	Philippe de Morannes
Gaby Morlay	...	Paulette Nanteuil
Jacqueline Delubac	...	Claudine André
Georges Grey	...	Carl Erickson (as George Grey)
Pauline Carton	...	La femme de chambre de l'hôtel
Jacques Vitry	...	Le docteur
Louis Baldy	...	Durmel
Julien Rivière	...	Le maître d'hôtel
Louis Vonelly	...	Le chef de réception
Paul Alex	...	Le concierge
Marc Hélin	...	Un chasseur
Pierre Huchet	...	Un valet de chambre
Georges Lemaire	...	Le régisseur
Marie-Claire Pissaro	...	Une femme de chambre
Clary Monthal	...	Une habilleuse

Storyline

The battle of the sexes as drawing room social satire. Philippe, a middle-aged newspaper editor, has lived for six years with Paulette, a successful stage actress. He tells her friend Claudine, a realistic and enterprising reporter, that he's thinking of proposing. Into the mix steps Carl Erickson, a charming Hollywood matinée idol in Paris briefly. He meets Paulette, sees her act (his box seat compliments of Philippe), and sets out to seduce her. The next two days bring talk, tears, separation, despair, surprises, and, perhaps, reconciliation as characters speak "exactly half the truth." It's a quadrille of changing partners.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | reporter | friend | newspaper editor | editor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

2 x 2 = 4

Filming Locations:

Studios Pathé-Cinema, Joinville-le-pont, Val-de-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Modernes (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remade as Quadrille (1997)

User Reviews

One of the weaker Guitrys

Guitry's films are often relegated to the category of "filmed theater." While this is an inaccurate categorization of his films as a whole, it does apply to this very talky picture. Not only is it based on a play, it is also very clumsily "opened up" with cutaway "meanwhile" inserts, brief exterior shots showing characters entering buildings, etc., which break up the theatrical continuity and add little, if anything. A rather long 91 minutes (the running time of the Gaumont DVD in the "Guitry Coffret d'or" boxed set -- though two Guitry books and IMDb list it as 109), despite the exceptionally appealing presence of young star Georges Gray -- a very handsome man, who is seen in a (non full-frontal) nude scene. He's very chipper and genial (if not exactly funny -- he doesn't really have any good lines). Guitry gives a typical Guitry performance. He himself said he was no actor, and, indeed, Guitry is always Guitry (as John Wayne is always John Wayne). Sometimes that's fine -- when he plays historical characters it seems to work well -- but here one could use something more. The women are all fine, the decors and costumes are lovely. And it's a bit of a bore.