Francis the First (French: François Premier) is a 1937 French historical comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Fernandel, Mona Goya and Alexandre Rignault.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.92Rège p.220 It was shot at the Cité Elgé studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Pierre Schild.
Synopsis Honorin is the stage manager at a theatre featuring a play set during the reign of Francis I. When an actor is indisposed, he has to step into his role and suffers badly from stage fright. A colleague attempts to use hypnotism to calm his nerves, but instead he falls into a trance and transported several hundred years back in time. Knowing what is to come, he is able to predict the future, which soon leads to accusations of witchcraft.
Cast Fernandel as Honorin Mona Goya as Elsa / Madeleine Ferron Alexandre Rignault as Henri VIII Henri Bosc as Luigi Cascaroni / Jean Ferron Aimé Simon-Girard as François 1er Alice Tissot as Madame Cascaroni / Dame Alfredine Charles Lemontier as La Palice Alexandre Mihalesco as Cagliostro Jean Sinoël as Le Fantôme René Génin as Cascaroni / L'aubergiste Henri Valbel as Le Padre Paul Delon as Duc de Montmorency Jean Marconi as Lautrec Nicolas Amato as Le Chevalier Bayard Jacques Vitry as Le Héraut Jeanne Lamy as Duchesse de Montmorency Claire Saint-Hilaire as Madame de Monchenut
References
Bibliography Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. Histoire du cinéma français: 1935-1939. Pygmalion, 1986. Crisp, Colin. Genre, Myth and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939. Indiana University Press, 2002. Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen . The A to Z of French Cinema. Scarecrow Press, 2009. Rège, Philippe. Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1. Scarecrow Press, 2009.
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