The French They Are a Funny Race Reviews

Notable as Preston Sturges's last film, made in France after an absence of six years. Based on essays allegedly written by an English major about his adjustment to carefree French life, the film is anecdotal and often amusing, but the overwhelming feeling is one of sadness as we watch the greatest comic talent of the 1940s straining along shortly before he died in exile. Jack Buchanan, that former effervescent musical comedy star, also makes his final appearance as Major Thompson, who resides in Paris with his air-headed but beautiful French wife (Carol, likable but underused); the two appear to have nothing better to do than argue over how to raise their child. Boyle appears as the major's English wife, whose conjugal outlook stems from her mother's advice to her on her wedding night: "My dear, it's utterly unbearable, but just close your eyes and think of England." Sturges does effectively lampoon both English and French lifestyles as he sees them, and the contrasts are sometimes evocative of his earlier sophistication. Still, the visuals are drab and the energy is low, making this a far cry from such brilliant earlier Sturges works as THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN CREEK and SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, both masterpieces of satirical wit.