Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)
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71% of users liked it
(27 ratings)
Monsieur Beaucaire, Booth Tarkington's novel about an 18th-century French barber who poses as a swashbuckling aristocrat, was the surprising source for this Grade-A Bob Hope comedy. While in the original novel the tonsorial hero pretended to be someone he wasn't by choice, in this 1946 film… More Monsieur Beaucaire, Booth Tarkington's novel about an 18th-century French barber who poses as a swashbuckling aristocrat, was the surprising source for this Grade-A Bob Hope comedy. While in the original novel the tonsorial hero pretended to be someone he wasn't by choice, in this 1946 film Hope is coerced into posturing as a nobleman on the threat of death. It's "out of the frying pan" time here, since Hope will be a target for execution the moment he weds a Spanish princess in place of genuine noble Patric Knowles. Bob's actions will prevent a war between Spain and France, but it's likely he won't be around to celebrate the Peace. Hiding his cowardice by cracking wise at every opportunity, Hope manages to save both the day and himself; he even rescues Joseph Schildkraut, the film's nominal villain, from the guillotine. The female contingent is represented by Joan Caulfield as Bob's covetous girl friend, Marjorie Reynolds as a princess, and Hillary Brooke as a haughty schemer (who is given her just desserts in an early slapstick set-piece). Woody Allen has long expressed his affection for Monsieur Beaucaire, an affection made doubly obvious in "homage" fashion by Allen's 1975 costume comedy Love and Death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- George Marshall
- Written By
- Melvin Frank
- Genres
- Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 4, 1946 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
Above-average Bob Hope costume comedy… borrows its title and inspiration from a silent Rudolph Valentino romance-drama, but transforms the original premise of a duke disguised as a barber into a farce about a real barber and a duke switching places.
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Cast
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Bob Hope
as M. Beaucaire
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Joan Caulfield
as Mimi
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Patric Knowles
as Duc de Chandre
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Cecil Kellaway
as Count D'Armand
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Marjorie Reynolds
as Princess Maria of Spain
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Joseph Schildkraut
as Don Francisco
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Reginald Owen
as Louis XV
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Constance Collier
as The Queen
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Hillary Brooke
as Mme. Pompadour
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Fortunio Bonanova
as Don Carlos
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Douglas Dumbrille
as George Washington
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Mary Nash
as The Duenna
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Leonid Kinskey
as Rene
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Howard Freeman
as King Philip of Spain
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Eric Alden
as Swordsman
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Nina Borget
as Wife
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Anthony Caruso
as Masked horseman
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Lane Chandler
as Officer
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Charles Coleman
as Major Domo
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Catherine Craig
as Duchess
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Jean De Briac
as Minister of Finance
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Jean Del Val
as Minister of War
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Helen Freeman
as Queen of Spain
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Sherry Hall
as Sentry
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Brandon Hurst
as Marquis
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Mona Maris
as Marquisa
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Jack Mulhall
as Guard
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John Mylong
as Minister of State
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Noreen Nash
as Baroness
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Tony Paton
as Waiter
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Nino Pipitone
as Lackey
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Hugh Prosser
as Courtier
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Buddy Roosevelt
as Spanish guard
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George Sorel
as Duke
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Philip Van Zandt
as Guard
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Dorothy Vernon
as Servant
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Alan Hale Jr.
as Courier
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John Maxwell
as Courier
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Manuel Paris
as Spanish Guard
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Robert "Buddy" Shaw
as Husband
