''Service Entrance'' (French: ''Escalier de service'') 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed and written by Carlo Rim and starring Etchika Choureau,

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

and

Robert Lamoureux Robert Lamoureux (4 January 1920 – 29 October 2011) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than 30 films between 1951 and 1994. He starred in the film '' The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered ...

. It was shot at the Billancourt 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 at the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. 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 ...

Serge Piménoff.

Synopsis

Walking alone and looking desperate, young Marie-Lou ( Etchika Choureau) is taken in hand by Léo, a street photographer and his squatter friends. They all want to know what happened to her, so to satisfy their curiosity, Marie-Lou starts recounting her unfortunate experiences as a housemaid. On account of adverse circumstances, she tells them, she lost all of the jobs she had in five different families. To crown it all, the young man she has fallen in love with, a brilliant artist, is in prison.

Cast

* Etchika Choureau as Marie-Lou *

as Béatrice Berthier *

as François Berthier * Sophie Desmarets as Madame Dumény * Jean Richard as Jules Béchard *

Saturnin Fabre Saturnin Fabre (; 4 April 1884 – 4 October 1961) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''La rafale'' (1920) - comte de Bréchebel * ''Mademoiselle de La Seiglière'' (1921) * '' The Road Is Fine'' (1930) - Le professeur Pique * ...

as Monsieur Delecluze *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky, ; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era's ...

as Nicolas Pouchkoff *

Alfred Adam Alfred Roger Adam (4 April 1908 – 7 May 1982) was a French stage and film character actor, who usually played weak or villainous roles. Selected filmography *''Speedway'' (1929) - Doctor (uncredited) *'' La Kermesse Héroïque'' (1935) - Jos ...

as Le cousin Albert * Junie Astor as Aline Béchard *

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fi ...

as Cesare Grimaldi, the father, Italian artist * Marc Cassot as Benvenuto Grimaldi, the son, brilliant painter * as Carlotta Grimaldi, the daughter, prostitute * Andréa Parisy as the second girl Grimaldi * Marthe Mercadier as Hortense Van de Putte * Héléna Manson as Madame Delecluze * Jacques Morel as Georges Dumény *

Yves Robert Yves Robert (; 19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting w ...

as Courbessac *

Jean-Marc Thibault Jean-Marc Thibault (1923–2017) was a French film and television actor.Halliwell p.56 He also directed three films. Selected filmography * '' First on the Rope'' (1944) * '' Cage of Girls'' (1949) * ''I Like Only You'' (1949) * ''Women of Paris' ...

as Léopold dit Léo * Anne Roudier as Madame Grimaldi *

Albert Michel Albert Michel (1909–1981) was a French stage, film and television actor.Paietta p.40 Selected filmography * ''Je chante'' (1938) - Un laitier (uncredited) * ''Ne bougez plus'' (1941) - Clanpinet * ''Chèque au porteur'' (1941) * ''Fièvres' ...

as the sexton, friend of "Grimaldi" *

Fernand Sardou Fernand Sardou (18 September 1910 – 31 January 1976La Gloire de Pagnol
p. 235.) was a French singer an ...

as Scarfatti, the conservative of du Louvre * Claire Gérard as Victorine, the mechanical street-sweeper of Louvre * René Hell as a sexton * Sylvain Levignac as a guest in engagements * Palmyre Levasseur as a guest in engagements * Rudy Lenoir as inspector * René Lefebvre-Bel as a restaurateur of pictures * Claude Sylvain as Une copine de Léo * Estella Blain as Une copine de Léo

References

Bibliography

* Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen . ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

*
Escalier de service (1954)
at the ''Films de France'' 1954 films French anthology films French comedy-drama films 1954 comedy-drama films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Carlo Rim Gaumont (company) films Films set in Paris Films shot at Billancourt Studios 1950s French films Films scored by Georges Van Parys French-language comedy-drama films {{1950s-France-film-stub