Le passe-muraille (1951)

Director:

Jean Boyer

Writers:

Michel Audiard (adaptation)
Marcel Aymé (story)

Release Date:

22 March 1951 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A mild-mannered government bureaucrat discovers that he has the ability to walk through inanimate objects.

Plot Keywords:

Paris France | Based On Short Story

Cast

Bourvil	...	Léon Dutilleul
Joan Greenwood	...	Susan
Gérard Oury	...	Maurice
Roger Tréville	...	Félix Burdin
Jacques Erwin	...	Gaston
Frédéric O'Brady	...	Le médecin-spécialiste (as O'Brady)
René Worms	...	Un employé au ministère
Nina Myral	...	Mrs. Eloise
André Dalibert
Nicole Riche	...	La dame du deuxième
Germaine Reuver	...	Mme Ménard, la concierge
Jeanne Véniat	...	La sud-américaine
Georges Flateau	...	M. Robert
Edmond Beauchamp	...	Arturo (as Beauchamp)
Henri Crémieux	...	Gustave Lécuyer

Also Known As:

Garù garù (Italy)
Garou Garou le passe-muraille
Mr. Peek-a-Boo (International: English title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Montmartre, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company:

Cité Films

Trivia:

An English version was made featuring Bourvil, Joan Greenwood, Marcelle Arnold, Payne Williams, Charles Jarrell, Frédéric O'Brady and Monroe. Production manager: Gilbert P. Mandelik.

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of Mr. Peek-A-Boo (1951/I)

No more bricks in the wall!

Jean Boyer was not an ambitious director,but he produced funny little comedies ;his best was certainly "Circonstances Atténuantes" starring Michel Simon and Arletty."Bolero" ,"Senechal le Magnifique " and "Le Rosier de Madame Husson" are certainly pleasant enough.

"Garou Garou Le Passe Muraille" based on a novel by Marcel Aymé ,with fine lines written by Audiard ,can be considered a successful movie too.Things begin to become a bit repetitive in the last third though,which was already the problem with "Bolero" in 1942 and even with "Circonstances Atténuantes" (1939).Reviewers often write that Boyer botched the job too frequently whereas he could have been a past master in the art of comedy.

Sound effects may seem rudimentary compared to today's standards but Bourvil really walks through walls!The best scenes,in my opinion,are to be found in the first half: the apartment the hero shares with an athletic grumpy brother-in-law and a sister who's got not his supernatural gift though she tries her best to..;the office where the hero works with his section head ;the meeting with the sneak thief (Joan Greenwood) who operates in hotels;the hilarious moment when Bourvil reads the lines of her hands .

It's impossible not to like Bourvil.I had the opportunity to see him on stage in an operetta in Paris and I have never forgotten this show.