Jean Gabin was not long out of the Music Halls and had yet to make an impact on the screen when he made this movie so perhaps it is not so surprising to find him singing at one point. Marc Allegret's previous movie was Fanny, the second part of the great Pagnol trilogy so on paper the omens were good. Top-billed Baker had been wowing audiences in the Paris night clubs for the best part of a decade, her husband - with no discernible talent - had crafted a screenplay to showcase her assets and theoretically a good time was had by all and it was arguably daring if not unconventional at that time to avoid the clichéd happy ending an audience would have expected. In a nutshell Baker and Gabin have known each other since childhood when they were flaunted in a carnival as brother and sister despite their obvious different ethnic backgrounds. Gabin was content with this but Baker was looking for love in adulthood and doomed to disappointment. In an echo of 42nd St Gabin 'arranges' for the talented amateur Baker to replace the star of a show on which he is a technician and of course she scores heavily but having already introduced Gabin to a friend has to stand by unfulfilled. A better print may have helped but I'm glad I saw it without being overwhelmed.
Review of Zou Zou
