Undescribable Perfection

Thanks for the memories!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A different way of telling a story

Okay, you really dig French movies; you come across one written by Jean Aurenche and Hernri Jeanson, directed by Claude Autant-Lara and featuring - or so you're led to believe - Danielle Darrieux. What's not to like. Nothing, right, but this is where the expression 'too good to be true' comes into play. Basically what we have here is a spin on our old friend 'droit de signeur', the same thing that got Chuck Heston in a lather in The War Lord, which was made around the same time as this entry. With names like the above involved, to say nothing of Pierre Brasseur, it can't be all bad and Jeanson throws in the odd tasty line the way he might toss a bone to a dog but the French have a saying 'to a good dog, a good bone'; in my book I'm a good audience (dog) so next time, Henri, make it a better bone.

"Vive Henri IV ,vive l'amour" is part of Autant-Lara's weak era (roughly from 1958 to 1961) an era when he was filming rubbish.They say he had to accept the dirty work to be able to make his "Tu ne Tueras Point" (1961-1963) ,the only French film dealing with conscientious objection."Vive Henri IV ,vive l'Amour" looks like a poor man's Guitry in spite of Jeanson who occasionally comes up with one good line or two.It's cardboard characters history ;they are as much alive as in a wax museum .Some actors have only one scene or two (Blier as Sully,Danielle Darrieux,Nicole Courcel).The plot revolves around the king's desire for Mademoiselle de Montmorency who could be his granddaughter (she's 17,he's 57).He marries her to Prince de Condé,provided that His Majesty will replace him for the wedding night.But young handsome Condé is not prepared to accept it and he runs away with his wife to the monarch's great displeasure.Overall,it is entertaining stuff ;if you forget history, Melina Mercouri who overplays as queen Marie de Medicis,and an unpleasant scene in a monastery where Condé is mistaken for a homosexual,the rest is bawdy moderately enjoyable stuff.If you do not ask too much,you can watch...