50 years ago this week, the great French comic Bourvil (André Raimbourg) left us, but not before appearing in some of the best-known French comedies and winning the hearts of millions with his good-natured, simple, happy-go-lucky persona. Bourvil is especially wonderful when he’s paired with/against Louis de Funès in films like “La Traversée de Paris,” “Le Corniaud,” and most famously in “La Grande Vadrouille” (1966), one of my favourite rainy day re-watches. Bourvil is Augustin Bouvet, a humble house-painter in WWII, occupied Paris who inadvertently upsets a bucket of whitewash over a Nazi officer before helping a parachuting British pilot go into hiding. Together with de Funès’ character Stanislas Lefort (a tetchy, mercurial conductor at the Opéra Garnier), Bouvet becomes a rather ordinary, accidental hero, aiding the RAF men to cross into the neutral zone in southern France. Bouvet is quite similar to Bourvil’s “Corniaud” character in that he’s charmingly easygoing, seemingly simple, but there’s a thoughtful bashfulness underneath that adds such tender warmth to his performance (his bravery is mostly inspired by his romantic feelings for Juliette, ‘la fille du Guignol’). His height and physical ease compared to the pocket-sized Funès is used to great visual humour, as the little-and-large duo often end up wearing jackets, trousers, helmets, (and here, shoes) that are far too long, short, large, or small as they traipse through capital and countryside on a frankly very dangerous, not-at-all-relaxing ‘stroll.’ But while Lefort rages and hyperventilates, the equally terrified Bouvet mostly seems to sail along and take it all in his stride. At one point he carries Lefort on his shoulders as they continue their journey while avoiding the enemy all around them, and Bouvet’s cheerful conversation really does make it all feel like a walk in the park. I’m sure his films and songs will be remembered in France and beyond for at *least 50 years more to come :’) Xo
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