''The Princess's Whim'' (French: ''Caprice de princesse'') is a 1934 French-German

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Henri-Georges Clouzot Henri-Georges Clouzot (; 20 November 1907 – 12 January 1977) was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his work in the thriller film genre, having directed '' The Wages of Fear'' and '' Les Diaboliques' ...

and

Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrian film director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexan ...

and starring

Marie Bell Marie Bell (23 December 1900 – 14 August 1985), born Marie-Jeanne Bellon-Downey, was a French tragedian, comic actor and stage director. She was the director of the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris from 1962 onwards, and this theatre now bea ...

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (27 October 1894 in Paris – 1 November 1979 in Paris) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur. With Lysiane Rey, he was the ...

and

Armand Bernard Armand Bernard (born Armand Joseph Bernard; 21 March 1893 – 13 June 1968) was a French comic actor and composer known mainly for his prolific work in film. Selected filmography * '' Le traitement du hoquet'' (1918) * '' The Little Cafe ...

. It was produced as the French-language version of the 1933 German film '' Her Highness the Saleswoman'' and distributed by

L'Alliance Cinématographique Européenne ''The Wedding Ring'' (french: L'Alliance) is a 1971 French mystery film directed by Christian de Chalonge and starring Anna Karina. Cast * Anna Karina as Jeanne * Jean-Claude Carrière as Hugues * Isabelle Sadoyan as Hélène * Tsilla Chelton a ...

, the French subsidiary of

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

. It is based on the play ''My Sister and I'' by

Georges Berr Georges Berr (30 July 1867 – 21 July 1942) in Paris, was a French actor and dramatist, a member and sociétaire of the Comédie-Française from 1886 to 1923. Under the pseudonyms Colias and Henry Bott he wrote several plays, particularly in c ...

and

Louis Verneuil Louis Jacques Marie Collin du Bocage (14 May 1893 – 3 November 1952), better known by the pen name Louis Verneuil, was a French playwright, screenwriter, and actor. Biography Born in Paris, Verneuil wrote approximately sixty plays and was be ...

.Goble p.39 It was shot at the

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

.The film's sets were designed by the art director

Werner Schlichting Werner Schlichting (1904–1996) was a German art director who worked on over a hundred films during a lengthy career. He worked on a number of Austrian films including '' The Congress Dances'' and '' The Last Ten Days'' (1955).Fritsche p.253 Se ...

Synopis

Princess Isabelle falls in love with André, a

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

in charge of her family's

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

, but he is not interested due to her grandiose manner. He seeks a woman from a more simple background. Isabelle then passes herself off as a financially-struggling younger sister Irène, who worked as a

salesgirl Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

, in order to win him over.

Cast

as Irène / Isabelle *

as André Martine / André Méry *

as Barnabé *

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

as Octave *

Guy Sloux Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorp ...

as Paul *

Germaine Roger Germaine Roger (1910–1975) was a French actress and operetta singer.Goble p.18 Selected filmography * '' Tossing Ship'' (1932) * '' Student's Hotel'' (1932) * '' A Weak Woman'' (1933) * '' Three Sailors'' (1934) * ''Excursion Train An e ...

as Henriette *

Gaston Jacquet Gaston Émile Marius Jacquet (14 August 1883 – 28 January 1970) was a French actor. Jacquet was born in Lanas, Ardèche, France and died in 1970 in Thonex in Switzerland. Selected filmography * '' Les Trois Mousquetaires'' (1921) * '' T ...

as Le notaire * Fernand Frey as Felix - le valet * Sinoël as Un matelot *

Bill Bocket Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak ...

as Le contrôleur *

Gaston Mauger Gaston Mauger (13 March 1878 – 18 October 1954) was a French stage and film actor. He made around forty film appearances, including the 1932 thriller ''Narcotics''.Youngkin p.465 Selected filmography * '' The Queen's Necklace'' (1929) * ''Acc ...

as Le capitaine *

Marcel Merminod Marcel Merminod (16 April 1893 – 31 May 1979) was a Swiss film actor. He appeared in 21 films between 1930 and 1970. He starred in the 1970 film '' Black Out'', which was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected ...

as Un matelot

References

Bibliography

* Alpi, Deborah Lazaroff. ''Robert Siodmak: A Biography, with Critical Analyses of His Films Noirs and a Filmography of All His Works''. McFarland, 1998. * Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Lloyd, Christopher. ''Henri-Georges Clouzot''. Manchester University Press, 2007.

External links

* 1934 films 1934 comedy films German comedy films Films of Nazi Germany CAtegory:French comedy films 1930s French films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Karl Hartl UFA GmbH films French black-and-white films German black-and-white films 1930s German films Cine-Allianz films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios French films based on plays {{1930s-France-film-stub