''Cadet Rousselle'' is a 1954 French

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

André Hunebelle André Hunebelle (; 1 September 1896 – 27 November 1985) was a French maître verrier (master glassmaker) and film director. Master Glass Artist After attending polytechnic school for mathematics, he became a decorator, a designer, and then a m ...

and starring François Périer,

Dany Robin Dany Robin (; 14 April, 1927 – 25 May, 1995) was a French actress of the 1950s and the 1960s. Nicknamed ‘''la petite fiancée de la France''’ (''France's little fiancée'') in the post-war years, she became one of the leading female stars ...

and

Madeleine Lebeau Marie Madeleine Berthe Lebeau (, 10 June 1923 – 1 May 2016) was a French film actress who also appeared in American films, most notably ''Casablanca''. Early life Lebeau married actor Marcel Dalio in 1939; it was his second marriage. They had ...

. It was shot in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...

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 ...

and on location in

Nemours Nemours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Geography Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c. south of M ...

, Saint-Yon and Égreville. 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 ...

Lucien Carré Lucien Carré (born 1904) was a French art directorCapua p.127 active in the French cinema designing film sets from the late 1920s to the late 1950s. He worked frequently with the director André Hunebelle as well as Julien Duvivier and Anatole ...

. It takes its title from a traditional song of the same title. It was a popular success in France, attracting four million spectators.Hayward p.33

Synopsis

After a fight,

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

Rousselle is forced to leave his hometown and sets out for

. On the way he has several adventures, including being attacked by highwaymen. He encounters a group of touring

actors An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who, unknown to him, are

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

agents committed to overturning the French Revolution and he soon finds himself embroiled in danger.

Cast

* François Périer as Cadet Rousselle *

as Violetta Carlino * Bourvil as Jérôme Baguindet *

as Marguerite de Beaufort * Christine Carère as Isabelle *

Noël Roquevert Noël Roquevert (born Noël Louis Raymond Bénévent; 18 December 1892 – 6 November 1973) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1932 and 1972. Roquevert was born in Doué-la-Fontaine and was married ...

as Le commissaire Berton * Jean Parédès as Le général *

Henri Crémieux Henri Crémieux (19 July 1896 – 10 May 1980) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1930 to 1980. Selected filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cremieux, Henri 1896 births 1980 deaths Male actors from ...

as Le maire * Alfred Adam as Ravignol * Pierre Destailles as Rouget de Lisle * Louis Arbessier as Le tribun * Jacques Dufilho as Carlos *

René Génin René Génin (25 January 1890 – 24 October 1967) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1931 and 1965. Selected filmography * ''Vertigo'' (1935) * '' The Mutiny of the Elsinore'' (1936) * '' The Bri ...

as Le curé * Jacques Dynam as L'aubergiste des Trois Grâces * Jacques Fabbri as Le colonel * Jean-Louis Jemma as Bonaparte * Marcel Pérès as Martin * Charles Bouillaud as Un colonel * Louis Bugette as Un gardien de prison * Anne Carrère as Une invitée chez le maire * Joé Davray as Arlequin * Isabelle Eber as L'allumeuse * Giani Esposito as Monseigneur * Françoise Favier as Marinette Duval -la serveuse des Trois Grâces * Lucien Guervil as Le deuxième gardien de prison * Marcelle Hainia as La dame en diligence * Guy Henry as Atlas * Corinne Marchand as Une danseuse orientale

References

Bibliography

* Hayward, Susan. ''French Costume Drama of the 1950s: Fashioning Politics in Film''. Intellect Books, 2010. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1954 films 1954 comedy films French historical comedy films 1954 adventure films French swashbuckler films French historical adventure films 1950s historical adventure films 1950s French-language films Films directed by André Hunebelle Films set in the 1790s Films set in Paris Pathé films Films shot at Francoeur Studios 1950s French films Films scored by Jean Marion {{1950s-France-film-stub