''Four Knaves'' (French: ''Carré de valets'') is a 1947 French

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

André Berthomieu André Berthomieu (; 16 February 1903 – 10 April 1960) was a French screenwriter and film director. He was married to the actress Line Noro. Selected filmography Director * '' Not So Stupid'' (1928) * '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929) ...

and starring

Jean Desailly Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, and later participated in about 90 movies. Life and career Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des ...

Martine Carol Martine Carol (born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer; 16 May 1920 – 6 February 1967) was a French film actress. She frequently was cast as an elegant blonde seductress. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was the leading sex symbol and ...

and

Denise Grey Denise Grey (born Édouardine Verthuy; 17 September 1896 – 13 January 1996) was an Italian-born actress who became a naturalized French citizen. Biography Édouardine Grey was born in Châtillon in the Aosta Valley of north-west Italy, close ...

.https://www.unifrance.org/film/4856/carre-de-valets It was shot at the Francoeur Studios in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Raymond Nègre Raymond Nègre was a French art director born on 13 July 1908 in Domjulien, Vosges, France and died on the 8th of July 1985 in Créteil (Val-de-Marne). He was active in the film industry from the 1930s until the 1970s in more than sixty films of t ...

Synopsis

Jacques de la Bastide is a struggling

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

who is dominated by his overbearing mother. For once he manages to win a case, getting three petty criminals off. To his surprise he finds out from Catherine, the attractive daughter of one of the men, that they are disappointed as they had been hoping to have board and lodging in prison over the winter. He agrees to take them on as

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

s in his own household.

Cast

as Jacques de la Bastide *

as Catherine Bonpain *

as Madame de la Bastide *

Pierre Larquey Pierre Larquey (10 July 1884 – 17 April 1962) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1962. Born in Cénac, Gironde, France, he died in Maisons-Laffitte at the age of 77. Selected filmography * ''P ...

as Arthur Bonpain - un cambrioleur *

Liliane Bert Liliane Bert (1922-2015) was a French film and television actress.Hayward p.146 Selected filmography * '' The Blue Veil'' (1942) * ''We Are Not Married'' (1946) * '' Four Knaves'' (1947) * '' Colonel Durand'' (1948) * '' Sergil and the Dictator'' ...

as Betty *

Paul Faivre Paul Faivre (3 March 1886 – 5 March 1973) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' The House Opposite'' (1937) * '' The Lady from Vittel'' (1937) * ''Cinderella'' (1937) * '' Behind the Facade'' (1939) * '' Vidocq'' (1939) * ''Moulin ...

as Le président Piquet *

Robert Berri Robert Berri (16 December 1912 – 22 November 1989) was a French film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1937 and 1979. Selected filmography References External links * 1912 births 1989 deaths French male film actors Male ...

as Philibert - un escroc *

Henri Charrett Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

as Un invité *

Roger Saget Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

as Biscotin *

Christiane Muller Christiane or Christianne is a given name, derived from the Latin ''Christiana'', the feminine form of ''Christianus'' (see Christian). It can also be a Latinized version of Middle English '' Christin'' 'Christian' (Old English ''christen'', from L ...

as Madame Biscotin *

Eliane Charles Éliane is a French feminine given name, also used as a surname. Eliane or Éliane may also refer to: * 1329 Eliane, a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on March 23, 1933 * Éliane, the name for Hill A1 in the 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu taken by Col ...

as Solange *

Jacques Louvigny Jacques Louvigny (1884–1951) was a French stage and film actor.Hayward p.241 Selected filmography * '' Delphine'' (1931) * ''On purge bébé'' (1931) * '' Fanfare of Love'' (1935) * '' The Squadron's Baby'' (1935) * ''The Lover of Madame Vidal' ...

as Firmin - le valet *

Alexandre Mathillon Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Alexandra (disambiguation) * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name " Alexandre (di ...

as Dubois * Yves Deniaud as Jules Furet - un cambrioleur *

Harry-Max Harry-Max (born Maxime Louis Charles Dichamp; 23 November 1901 – 13 March 1979) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1938 to 1975. Filmography References External links * 1901 births 1979 deaths ...

as Monsieur Dubois - l'entomologiste *

Louis Florencie Louis Florencie (4 December 1896 – 4 December 1951) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1927 and 1951. Selected filmography * '' Make a Living'' (1931) * '' Companion Wanted'' (1932) * '' Beauty Spot'' (1932 ...

as Monsieur Georges *

Bernard Lajarrige Bernard La Jarrige (25 February 1912 – 29 May 1999) was a French film and television actor.Paietta p.17 His name is sometimes written as Bernard Lajarrige. Selected filmography * '' Orage'' (1938) - Un copain (uncredited) * ''La cité des lumi ...

as Albert Furet - un cambrioleur

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: encyclopédie des films, 1940–1950''. Pygmalion, 1986 * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1947 films French comedy films 1947 comedy films 1940s French-language films Films directed by André Berthomieu French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films shot at Francoeur Studios Pathé films Films scored by Georges Van Parys Films with screenplays by Henri Jeanson {{1940s-France-film-stub