"Casse-cou, Mademoiselle" was directed by Christian Stengel who never signed any masterpiece in french cinema, just cool popular movies with famous stars (Charles Trenet, Noël Noël, Jules Berry, Bernard Blier, Pierre Richard-Wilm, Gaby Morlay, Alfred Adam, Madeleine Sologne, George Marchal, Simone Renant, Michel Auclair, Marcel Herrand, Françoise Arnoul, Madeleine Robinson, Erich von Stroheim, Francis Blanche, Philippe Lemaire, Magali Noël, Raymond Bussières, Marthe Mercadier, Albert Préjean, Pierre Mondy, Arletty and even a very young Philippe Bouvard). Mostly in comedies and a few dramas.
Christian Stengel directed 13 movies, only six are available on DVD, the seven others are really invisible and I think they do not deserve these depths of oblivion.
It is the case for "Casse-cou, Mademoiselle", a very funny romantic comedy with Raymond Bussières hoping to be a racing driver who meets the daughter of a car manufacturer. And the car is the famous french Dyna Panhard, from then, we see the factory, the car selling showroom and finally a race at La Baule. In this movie, Raymond Bussières is more enthusiastically funny than ever, there are some gags that remind me of Buster Keaton, yes I dare compare him to the Master (who of course remains far more superior).
And for fans of the Dyna Panhard, this movie is a must, from beginning to end, an incredible document which deserves definitely a DVD release.
The cinematographer was Marcel Grignon who had already worked for Christian Stengel in 1947 for "le Village Perdu". Grignon was also the cinematographer for some great Louis de Funès successes, including Fantomas and Le Gendarme sagas. No need to say he never got any recognition for his work on Fantomas, not even mentioned in the Fantomas-de Funès book. I feel sorry for this unforgettable oblivion.
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