Silence Is Golden + A Lover’s Return

THEATRICAL COMPLICATIONS! TWO WITH FRANÇOIS PÉRIER…

Man About Town / Le silence est d’or

12:00 PM René Clair returns to France after a thirteen-year hiatus in Hollywood to weave a charming, bittersweet tale of a silent era director (Maurice Chevalier) who plays Pygmalion to a young actress (Marcelle Derrien) with hopes of making her his mistress, only to lose her to his protégé (Francois Périer) who he’s been assiduously teaching the art of seduction. (1947, René Clair, 100 min)

A Lover’s Return / Un revenant

2:00 PM The one and only Louis Jouvet dominates the proceedings in this backstage “noir comedy,” which was a major hit at THE FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT 3 back in 2016. Returning to Lyon with his stage troupe to avenge his mistreatment by a wealthy family, Jouvet orchestrates a series of flawless subterfuges, including a hilarious/precarious mock-romance between the young scion of the family (François Périer at his most hapless) and a beautiful ballerina (Ludmila Tcherina, later famous for her role in The Red Shoes). With Gaby Morlay and crusty grande dame Marguerite Moreno (whom we’ll see again in the evening show!). (1946, Christian-Jaque, 85 min)