André Lefaur(1879-1952)

André Lefaur is undeniably part of the pantheon of French actors. One of those "eccentrics of the French Cinema" as Raymond Chirat and Olivier Barrot quite rightly dubbed them. One of these wonderful personalities of the stage and screen who alongside Michel Simon, Louis Jouvet, Saturnin Fabre, Raimu and several others have such a strong personality, such a personal style that they are absolutely inimitable. Just like the actors mentioned above, André Lefaur was first and foremost André Lefaur. Which does not mean that he did not make the character he played believable. Quite the contrary. But like Simon, Brasseur or Raimu, he made them bigger than life and- accordingly - unforgettable. It is to be noted that on the big screen was most of the time a nobleman (at lest twenty times: six times a marquis, four times a baron) and/or a figure of authority (four times a general, but also a colonel, a judge or a president). However, instead of causing the viewer to admire these figures of the elite, Lefaur invariably deflated the ego of those pompous empty windbags. Yes, André Lefaur was nearly always cast as a v.i.p. but this person was invariably starchy, tyrannical ('La Fleur d'Oranger'), weak, pretentious, ridiculous ('La Dixième Symphonie') or cuckolded ('L'Habit Vert'). On the other hand, he never made puppets of his characters. There was always humanity within them and the viewer tended to end up feeling sorry for them rather than despise them. Marc Allégret allowed Lefaur to display all his humanity in his final role, that of a loving father in 'Les Petites du Quai aux Fleurs'), which was a nice farewell present to a man who will always be remembered for his ability to deliver witty lines by Louis Verneuil, Mirande, Deval, Flers and Caillavet like nobody else.