Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)

A bumbling barber in the court of King Louis XV becomes engaged in political intrigue when he masquerades as a dashing nobleman engaged to the princess of Spain.

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Booth Tarkington (novel), Melvin Frank,

Stars:

Bob Hope, Joan Caulfield, Patric Knowles

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bob Hope	...	Monsieur Beaucaire
Joan Caulfield	...	Mimi
Patric Knowles	...	Duc le Chandre
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Princess Maria of Spain
Cecil Kellaway	...	Count D'Armand
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Don Francisco
Reginald Owen	...	King Louis XV
Constance Collier	...	The Queen of France
Hillary Brooke	...	Mme. Pompadour
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Don Carlos
Douglass Dumbrille	...	George Washington
Mary Nash	...	The Duenna
Leonid Kinskey	...	Rene
Howard Freeman	...	King Philip II

Storyline

Beaucaire is a barber for the Royal French court who becomes a real "royal pain" for the king. As a result he is sent to the guillotine - however he is saved by the Duc de Chandre, who rescues and transports him to the Spanish court. While there Beaucaire poses as a noblesman. The only problem is, he gets into even more trouble.

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Plot Keywords:

barber | king | guillotine | spain | king louis xv | 

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Genres:

Comedy | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Den tapre barber

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Goofs

References are made to the guillotine as a means of execution. The guillotine was not invented until the reign of King Louis XVI.

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Quotes

Monsieur Beaucaire: [Referring to the guillotine] What a way to die!
Count D'Armand: Be brave my friend. You wanted to go anyway.
Monsieur Beaucaire: But like a man, not like a salami!

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Connections

Version of A Gentleman of France (1905)

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Soundtracks

"A Coach and Four"
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

User Reviews

"We're to be married--till death do us part!" ... "Oh, they're working on that!"

Foppish skewering of the Booth Tarkington novel, previously filmed with Rudolph Valentino in 1924. Bob Hope is dryly engaging as a barber in the French Court of King Louis XV who inadvertently gets his chambermaid-love banished to Spain, following her there while impersonating the Duc de Chandre, a notorious ladies' man who is to be married in an act of patriotism to the Princess of Spain. Seems lengthy at 93 minutes, with a few peaks and valleys in the plotting, and yet it's relaxed and pleasant enough to be palatable to even non-Hope buffs. Still, ace screenwriters Melvin Frank and Norman Panama don't know when to quit, and even the funny tag at the end is ultimately spoiled by unnecessary silliness. A couple of nice songs by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston, a good production, and a funny duel (with Hope's ski-slope nose getting caught in the harp strings) makes for a fitfully amusing time. ** from ****