The astonishing naivety of a
Corniaud
who does not allow himself to be told by the cunning of Louis de Funès in Gérard Oury's comedy;
the strength of a lumberjack who does not hesitate to fight with Lino Ventura in
Les Grandes Gueules
by Robert Enrico;
the charm of a simple man who ends up seducing Michèle Morgan in
Fortunat
by Alex Joffé;
a curator as intelligent as he is obstinate in
Le Cercle rouge
by Jean-Pierre Melville ... fifty years after his death on September 23, 1970, Bourvil is still present in the hearts of the French.
To read also: Bourvil, the man who laughed in the city as on the stage
He had started on village scenes.
He imitated his model, Fernandel.
Having become a star, he crossed swords with him, later, in
La Cuisine au Beurre
.
He played there a restaurateur who prepared Norman soles.
Fernandel preferred Bouillabaisse.
The North and the South, two France, but the same humor.
For
La Traversée de Paris
in 1956, Claude Autant-Lara wanted to convince Jean Gabin to play Grangil.
At first resistant to the idea of playing in this adaptation of Marcel Aymé's short story, the filmmaker brought down a trump card: “
Bourvil will be your partner.
"The argument will be decisive and the answer of the sacred monster was not long in coming:"
If it's Bourvil, I sign immediately.
"
In the 1960s, Bourvil alternated between dramatic and comedic roles with disconcerting ease.
Twice he will play the full commissioners: first against Pierre Brasseur in
Les Bonnes Causes
by Christian-Jaque then against Alain Delon in
Le Cercle Rouge
, one of Jean-Pierre Melville's best thrillers.
And then, there will be his famous duets with Louis de Funès:
Le Corniaud
and
La Grande Vadrouille
.
Gérard Oury, the director, found there, by associating these two geniuses of comedy, the ideal martingale of cinematographic comedy.
Danièle Thompson, daughter and co-scriptwriter of Gérard Oury, will explain perfectly in his work
My father, the As des As
, the alchemy of this explosive alloy: “
This kind of contempt of the rich towards the poor, this arrogance of the powerful, in addition to a thug, towards this honest man of the people, this opposition between France from above and France from below, it is very anchored in French culture.
"
These two successes -
Le Corniaud
attracted 12 million spectators and
La Grande Vadrouille
17 million -, leading to a third,
La Folie des grandeurs
.
Bourvil was to play Ruy Blas, the intelligent and facetious valet created by Victor Hugo.
Fate will decide otherwise, on September 23, André Raimbourg, the most modest of the great actors, left us to join the paradise of acrobats forever.
From
Garou-Garou,
Jean Boyer's
wall pass
to the
Red Circle
of Jean-Pierre Melville via
Le Corniaud
,
La Grande Vadrouille
and
Le Cerveau
by Gérard Oury (facing Belmondo!) And
A funny parishioner
by Jean-Pierre Mocky,
Le Figaro
presents, below, a selection of Bourvil's most striking films.
Garou-Garou, the wall pass
by Jean Boyer, in 1951, inspired by the short story
Le Passe-muraille
by Marcel Aymé, dialogue by Michel Audiard, with Bourvil, Joan Greenwood, Gérard Oury ...
La Traversée de Paris
by Claude Autant-Lara released in 1956, inspired by the short story of Marcel Aymé
Traversée de Paris
(1947), with Jean Gabin, Bourvil, Louis de Funès ...
Le Chanteur de Mexico
by Richard Pottier, in 1956, adaptation of the operetta created in 1951 by Francis Lopez, with Luis Mariano, Bourvil, Annie Cordy, Fernando Rey ...
La Jument verte
by Claude Autant-Lara, in 1959, adapted from the novel by Marcel Aymé, with Bourvil, Francis Blanche, Sandra Milo, Georges Wilson, Julien Carette ...
Fortunate
of Alex Joffé, in 1960, with Bourvil, Michèle Morgan, Rosy Varte ...
The Longest Day
, 1962, directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Gerd Oswald and Darryl F. Zanuck, from the work of Cornelius Ryan, with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Bourvil, Henry Fonda, Curd Jürgens, Arletty ...
Les Bonnes Causes
by Christian-Jaque, in 1963, with Pierre Brasseur, Marina Vlady, Bourvil, Virna Lisi ....
A strange parishioner
by Jean-Pierre Mocky, in 1963, with Bourvil, Francis Blanche, Jean Poiret ...
The Butter Kitchen
by Gilles Grangier, in 1963, with Fernandel, Bourvil, Claire Maurier ...
Le Corniaud
by Gérard Oury, in 1965 with Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Venantino Venantini ...
Les Grandes Gueules
by Robert Enrico, in 1965, with Bourvil, Lino Ventura, Marie Dubois, Michel Constantin, Jess Hahn ...
La Grande Vadrouille
by Gérard Oury, in 1966, with Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Marie Dubois ...
La Grande Lessive (!)
By Jean-Pierre Mocky, in 1968, with Bourvil, Francis Blanche, Jean Tissier, Roland Dubillard, Michael Lonsdale ...
Le Brain
by Gérard Oury, in 1969, with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, David Niven, Eli Wallach ...
The Atlantic Wall by
Marcel Camus, in 1970, with Bourvil, Peter McEnery, Sophie Desmarets, Jean Poiret ...
Le Cercle rouge
by Jean-Pierre Melville, in 1970, with Alain Delon, André Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonte, Yves Montand, François Périer ...
