Fanfare D'Amour (1935)

Two unemployed musicians, a pianist (Fernand Gravey) and a double bass player (Julien Carette) have difficulty finding work as themselves. So they disguise themselves as women and join an all girl band where both are attracted to the same girl (Betty Stockfeld). Directed by Richard Pottier (DAVID AND GOLIATH). If the plot sounds familiar, it should. The film was remade by Billy Wilder in 1959 as SOME LIKE IT HOT. If the Wilder film didn't exist, I probably would be charmed by it but SOME LIKE IT HOT does exist and this movie can't help but suffer in comparison. It doesn't have the wit and delight of the 1959 film and lacks the ample triple star power of Monroe, Curtis and Lemmon. This is not to say that FANFARE D'AMOUR is a weak film, on the contrary. It's often inventive and there are modest laughs to be had. It's just not as good. With Madeleine Guitty who steals the movie as the head of the all girl band, Gaby Basset and Jacques Louvigny.