Dreadfully Boring

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is a fantastic, and fantastically one-off, creepy little comedy that I'd never even heard of before but now wish everyone could see. A desolate, snow-bound 19th century inn lures passing travellers to their doom until a monk and his apprentice happen by to take shelter for the night.As another reviewer here pointed out, it's very much cut from the same cloth as Arsenic And Old Lace, Kind Hearts And Coronets or maybe even Murder By Death. If you like any of those, you'll probably find something to like in this too, with the added bonus of all that snow and eerie atmosphere.It strikes me once again how French cinema was so far ahead of perhaps every other country in the 1950s in terms of freedom of speech and a grown-up worldview. During the years of the Hays Code censorship, Hollywood became forcibly infantilized and incapable of addressing religion, sex and the realities of life in general in any kind of adult manner whatsoever. This movie feels much more like one of Grimm's original fairy tales than the Disney animated version that would have been made in America at the same time.The subtitles in the copy I saw were very poor, and let down much of the comic delivery. This would be an ideal candidate for a Criterion restoration and release.

Of course, there will always be some narrow-minded people to remain highly prejudiced against death - especially their own - while in fact, let's say it, death can be so funny ! Unforgettable comedies such as 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (USA), 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' (Britain), 'Divorzio all'italiana' (Italy), 'El Verdugo' (Spain) and of course 'L'Auberge rouge' (France) all should have been granted, in their time, some kind of prestigious Dark Humour or Macabre Humour prize. (Maybe we could call it the Golden Guillotine Award ?) Adapted from a true crime story that took place in 1833 - the Auberge de Peyrebeille affair - this witty gem was remarkably well cooked by screenwriters Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost and director Claude Autant-Lara, decidedly at the top of their game with this black comedy featuring some inimitable acting à la française : Fernandel, hilarious as always, Julien Carette as truculent as a peasant serial killer can be, and above all the great (and diabolical !) Françoise Rozay, accompanied by a bunch of crunchy second-roles specialists, PLUS the very cool song "La Ballade de l'Auberge rouge" sung by Yves Montand himself! 'L'Auberge rouge' is a great French classic, providing amusement, remarkable atmosphere and even joie de vivre - for those who survive !

A remake, some 56 years after this one, is now in Post Production with a screenplay by Christian Clavier - who also plays the host played here by Carette - and co-starring Gerard Jugnot and Josie Balasko. This trio were, of course, founder members of Splendid and all have several tasty writer-director-actor credits on their cvs. In other words none of them are exactly chopped liver but then neither were Fernandel, Julien Carette and Francoise Rosay and the Autant-Lara version also had something the new version can only dream of; Yves Montand singing the plot over the opening and closing credits - something 'borrowed' by High Noon the following year. Autant-Lara was noted for his satiric stance on the Church and he doesn't disappoint here, encouraging writers Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost to include touches like the chestnut grille that stands in as a confessional 'screen' when hostess Francoise Rosay is moved to reveal to Fernandel's monk how she and her husband, Carette, ritually poison the soup they serve to guests at their remote inn, and then, once the victims expire, rob them. This sets up neatly the central dilemma; how can Fernandel save the current guests without betraying the secrets of the Confessional (this could well be where Hitchcock got the idea for 'I Confess'). This is French cinema at its best, which is saying something. The scene where the murderers are just about to dig a grave for their latest victim when they spot Fernandel approaching and quickly convert stiff to snowman was way ahead of its time half a century ago. There's been quite a lot of talk about the atmosphere on the set between the two Johnny-One-Names Fernandel and Carette (Carette vacillated, as did Dalio, between billing as Carette and Julien Carette/Marcel Dalio) with Fernandel, rightly or wrongly, feeling hard done by at the hands of Autant-Lara to whom he allegedly never spoke again, but after half a century surely we can forget that and just delight in a minor masterpiece.

French Best Humorist Fernandel was at His peak when he made this movie in 1951..he hated it and never spoke again to its Director Autant-Lara .. The Movie was a Smash but you can easily understand Fernandel's reaction..he is clearly upstaged by the much interesting couple of killers played by Rosay and Carette..The Movie is based on a true story and could be a very good thriller .