Bizarre, Bizarre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Drole de Drame (Funny Drama, 1937) is, like Children of Paradise, a Marcel Carne-Jacques Prevert film.

Derived from a novel, it is a comic fantasy set in London (with French actors) where false accusations of murder drive a hulking botanist and his wife into hiding.  Everywhere there is a blithe disregard for authority and mores, but, to be sure, authority figures in the film behave inanely, hypocritically.  They can’t really be taken seriously, almost as though anarchy is justified.  At the same time, Drame satirizes mob justice, the mob mentality—as crazily unreliable as the pillars of society.

All this is handled with a light touch, with some high spirits, with odd details (multiple milk bottles left by Billy the milkman, Henri Guisol‘s Buffington constantly reclining on a sofa).  It’s too bad the actresses here are not very attractive—not even Nadine Vogel (as Eva)—but the histrions’ performances shine.  They make for true and engaging “funny drama.”

Also called Bizarre, Bizarre.  It can be.

(In French with English subtitles)