''St. Val's Mystery'' (original: ) is a 1945 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 ...

starring

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French comic actor. Born in Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, a town located in th ...

directed by

René Le Hénaff René Le Hénaff (24 April 1901 – 5 January 2005) was a French film editor and director. As a film editor he collaborated with directors Marcel Carné, René Clair, and Géza von Radványi among others. His three films with Carné in the late ...

, Shot during the winter of 1944–1945 in the Boulogne Studios, this was the Fernandel's first film following the

liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...

. The film's original release title is ''Le mystère Saint-Val'', and it was released in the United States in 1945 under the English title of ''St. Val's Mystery''. It was then released in Denmark on 23 October 1950 as ''Det mystiske slot'' and in Portugal on 1 June 1954 as ''Fernandel, Polícia Amador''.

Plot

An insurance-office clerk Désiré Le Sec (

) dreams of being a great detective. The clerk's uncle (

Marcel Carpentier Marcel Maurice Carpentier (; 2 March 1895 – 14 September 1977) was a French Army general who served in World War I, World War II, and the First Indochina War. Early life Born on 2 March 1895 in Marseille, he was the eldest son in his family ...

) is his boss at that agency, and sends Désiré out on a frivolous mission to Saint-Val Castle, where the master of places has been found dead through mysterious circumstances. Désiré uncovers a real life murder and becomes mixed up with the murder case, ending up spending a night in the forbidding and spooky old Saint-Val castle.

Cast

as Désiré Le Sec *

Jean Davy Jean Davy (15 October 1911 – 5 February 2001) was a French film, stage voice actor. Career He was a Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. In the premiere production of ''Antigone (Anouilh play), Antig ...

as Max Robertal *

as L'oncle de Désiré *

Marcel Pérès Marcel Pérès (born 15 July 1956, Oran, Algeria) is a French musicologist, composer, choral director and singer, and the founder of the early music group Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant. Pérès was ...

as Le brigadier *

Erno Crisa Erno Crisa (10 March 1914 – 4 April 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1944 and 1968. His last film was the spaghetti western '' Sugar Colt''. Partial filmography * '' Sideral Cruises'' (1942) - L'h ...

as Le vagabond *

Jean Dasté Jean Dasté (born Jean Georges Gustave Dasté; 18 September 1904 – 15 October 1994)

as L'huissier *

Alexandre Rignault Alexandre Rignault (14 February 1901 – 2 April 1985) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films between 1931 and 1985. Biography He was born on February 14, 1901 in Paris 5th, at his parents' home, rue Guy-de-La-Brosse. H ...

as Antoine *

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (; March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first a ...

as Dartignac * Paul Demange * Viviane Gosset as Suzy * Arlette Guttinguer as Rose * Germaine Kerjean as Madame De Saint-Val *

Maxime Fabert Maxime Fabert, real name Robert Émile Jaillon, (7 November 1898 – 1 October 1978) was a French stage and film actor. Maxime Fabert managed the Theater of the Comédie-Wagram from 1946 to 1962. Filmography * 1932 : '' The Nude Woman'' by J ...

Reception

The film was a big hit in France, recording admissions of 2,397,153.Fernandel films box office in France
at Box Office Story James Travers of Film de France offered that the film appears to have borrowed its plot from ''

Ten Little Indians "Ten Little Indians" is an American children's Counting-out game, counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapted it as a song, then calledTen Little Injuns, for a minstrel show. Lyr ...

'' but with a "decidedly unfunny comic twist". When seen with the now-removed musical numbers it contained in its original release, the film "was probably more digestible". Summarizing, Travers felt the gags were predictable, the plot "hackneyed and pedestrian", and the "unimaginative pay-off definitely does not reward" the viewer., concluding that this marked the film as "clearly not Fernandel's finest hour".

References

External links

*
''St Val's Mystery''
at Films de France {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Val's Mystery French comedy films 1945 comedy films 1945 films French black-and-white films 1940s French-language films Films directed by René Le Hénaff 1940s French films Films scored by René Sylviano Films shot at Boulogne Studios French-language comedy films