Desire

Arletty, Sacha Guitry and Pauline Carton

Sacha Guitry's Désiré, from 1937, is a charming comedy from Guitry's peak period as a filmmaker. Guitry plays the title character, a debonair valet who uncorks the unconscious desires of his mistress, Odette, and reciprocates in kind. Odette is played by Jacqueline Delubac, at that time Madame Guitry. Odette has a beau, Felix, but he is a stuffy bureaucrat more interested in career advancement than amour. Guitry has already established the need of the female members of Odette's household for a bit of romantic dash before Désiré arrives to fill the position of valet. The interplay between the distaff members of the downstairs staff, Arletty's chambermaid and Pauline Carton's cook, fosters a randy tone that signals that the project's focus will remain on the boudoir.

Désiré, like a good many Guitry films, was originally a play. It premiered in 1927 with Guitry starring with then wife Yvonne Printemps. It cannot be stressed what a lauded giant of the French stage Guitry was by the mid-1930s, both as a playwright and star. He resisted film in its silent era, but succumbed with a frenzy of cinematic activity that began with The New Testament in 1936. He directed eight features in the three years before the Second World War broke out, after concocting some seventy or so plays since 1902. Some of these plays are still performed, albeit only in the Francophone parts of the world. Désiré reflects the popular, cartoonish view of Freud and the unconscious that was more current in 1927, but still lingered in 1937. Désiré and Odette both have dreams about each other and express their passions in an unconscious verbal fashion to the fascination and vexation of the other members of their household; and to the delight of the audience. A tome entitled The Key to Dreams, a stand in for The Interpretation of Dreams, is consulted by both Désiré and Odette in an effort to understand the meaning of their reveries.

Georges Feydeau and Sarah Bernhardt with the happy couple, after witnessing the marriage of Sacha Guitry and Yvonne Printemps, 1919

What is remarkable about Désiré is how spry and cinematic a stage adaptation it is. Cross cutting between upstairs and downstairs establishes parallelism between the classes, bridging the alleged gap between masters and servants. A slow tracking shot before Odette and Felix greet Madame Corniche for an intimate dinner, a hilarious sequence which derives belly laughs from the lady's deafness, illustrates the gap between appearance and reality in regards to the host's feelings towards their guest. Guitry inserts superimposition shots of Odette from Désiré's point of view that aptly illustrate his yen for her. These small touches, Guitry is never a bold employer of cinematic technique, represent a slight advancement from the primitive skits of Le Roman d'un tricheur and Les Perles de la couronne. 

What unites all of Guitry's films is his facility with actors. Arletty, who like Guitry was accused of collaboration with the Nazis after the war, is indelible as a no nonsense woman who likes her fun, but "is not a slut." Guitry and Arletty's tart interchanges, there is no spark between them but there is a measured respect, are a special treat. Pauline Carton, who tallied nearly two hundred credits in a long film career, is equally memorable as the cook. It is a tribute to Guitry's gifts as a director that he is able to elicit exquisite performances from both veterans and neophytes. Alys Delonce, in her only film appearance, is wonderful as the clueless Madame Corniche. A cameo by Geneviève Vix, in her sole film role, is also outstanding. Vix was a noted French soprano who had recently retired from the opera stage. She was reputably one of the many mistresses of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.

                             

Guitry as Désiré

The film concludes with Odette and Désiré acknowledging their attraction, but they choose to uphold propriety rather than surrender to their passion. This may seem old-fashioned, but Guitry is remaining true to his self. He was conventional rather than modernist (Chaplin is a good contrast) and somewhat more allied to the 19th Century rather than the 20th. In a heartfelt speech to Odette, Désiré seems to be speaking for his author when he admits he is drawn to the ladies he serves out of masochistic desire; he adores his servitude to them. It doesn't seem much of a stretch to suggest that Guitry is expressing his desire to serve and entertain his audience. The self-abnegation may be a pose, but Guitry knows that he is nothing without his audience's acclaim.