Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)

6.9/10 84 min Comedy

Overview

Michel Simon gives one of the most memorable performances in screen history as Boudu, a Parisian tramp who takes a suicidal plunge into the Seine and is rescued by a well-to-do bookseller, Edouard Lestingois. The Lestingois family decides to take in the irrepressible bum, and he shows his gratitude by shaking the household to its foundations. With Boudu Saved from Drowning, legendary director Jean Renoir takes advantage of a host of Parisian locations and the anarchic charms of his lead actor to create an effervescent satire of the bourgeoisie.

Cast

Michel Simon

Priape Boudu

Marcelle Hainia

Emma Lestingois

Sévérine Lerczinska

Chloë Anne Marie, la Bonne

Jean Gehret

Vigour

Max Dalban

Godin

Jean Dasté

L'Étudiant

Charles Granval

Édouard Lestingois

Geneviève Cadix

la petite fille

Jacques Becker

Le Poète (uncredited)

Georges D'Arnoux

Un Invité à la Noce (uncredited)

Régine Lutèce

la jeune femme au chien perdu

Jane Pierson

Rose, la Voisine (uncredited)

Recommendations

The Valet
La Cage aux Folles II
Cyrano, My Love
Mon Oncle
La Cage aux Folles
A Cat in Paris
The Gendarme Gets Married
The Suicide Shop
Open Season
The Flying Deuces
The Women on the 6th Floor
The Phantom of Liberty
The Restaurant
Ratatouille
Dead Tired
When the Cat's Away
Crooks in Clover
Spy
Santa Claus Is a Stinker
Zazie dans le Métro