(Jim’s girlfriend, a floozy named Simone, just about smothers Buster with her welcome.) You did a great job showcasing it. Which I did. In Paris, a stage-struck would-be actor is mistaken for an escaped convict. It has a poignancy for any fan of the great comedian. Keaton’s voice was obviously dubbed, since he didn’t speak French. That gag with the glass is iconic. Keaton was still married to his second wife, Mae Scriven, at the time. I forgot who said it, but they were right when they claimed MGM made the Marxes the comic relief in their own films! After falling from the heights of making prestigious features at MGM to taking whatever low-budget work he could get in the mid 30s, not to mention going through a rough patch in his personal life, it’s perhaps not surprising that Buster had a fairly low opinion of the work he was doing at this point. , I saw this film in about 1980, at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA. A perfect excuse! We have heard him say ‘Ouvrir la porte.’ We have even unearthed a moment when he says, ‘Vive le chef!’ (As he is trying to get away from the hideout, using an elevator, and the Keystone Gangsters are confusing Good Buster and Bad Buster. I hope you enjoy! He is tossing what appears to be money into the street, but the paper is actually advertising circulars with a reproduction of the French franc on one side and the marketing message on the other. Le Roi des Champs-Élysées is a 1934 French comedy starring Buster Keaton. Both, of course, are played by Keaton. The film is currently on YouTube if you’re dying to see it (I hope you don’t mind some Spanish subtitles): I do want to see this and will as soon as I finish my entry for the blogathon! Find trailers, reviews, synopsis, awards and cast information for Le Roi Des Champs-Elysees (1934) - Max Nosseck on AllMovie - In an attempt to boost his then-flagging career,… This is certainly his best film since Spite Marriage, and maybe better, because while Spite Marriage may have more of the Keaton physical skill and stunts, this one has more of the Keaton heart and soul. Also Known As (AKA) (original title) Le roi des Champs-Élysées. This leads to several funny scenes where he obliviously causes near-riots as the Parisians scramble to scoop up all the wealth. ), But no matter how we try, we cannot find where he says, ‘Get me a drink.’, Hmm, I haven’t seen it in while so I can’t remember where that line is…darn! Or perhaps, being a lower budget feature, Buster figured it wouldn’t matter too much to add a smile at last. C'est le seul long métrage tourné en France par Buster Keaton . The MGM films just didn’t get Keaton’s style or persona, I think. I remember laughing only once. I’ve always been curious about this film, but have never read too much about it. The name of the (short-lived) production company was Nero Films, which seems to have existed only a few more years. I’m so happy to hear that! Change ), Thoughts On: “Le Roi des Champs-Elysees” (1934), https://www.ioffer.com/i/the-king-of-the-champs-elysees-buster-keaton-147093171. Plus they weren’t so hot with anything other than rom-com brand comedy in general. 21 likes. Le gag final montre Keaton le pince-sans-rire s'épanouir dans un grand sourire après avoir été embrassé. Keaton, dressed in a top hat and tuxedo, is riding in the back of a convertible through the streets of the French capital. Earlier I was discussing this film with a friend and she made a good point–this is not a film just for Keaton completists, it’s a truly wonderful comedy and deserves to be more widely seen. Very, very few things, that’s what. I need to watch both films again to compare, but I believe some of the shots of the nightmarish trees, and a couple of the long shots of the speeding cars, were taken from TESTAMENT. I would love to see it on the big screen, too–our best bet would be probably be a film festival, or one of the Buster conventions (there’s the Damfinos’ event in Muskegon and a Keaton Celebration in Iola, KS). And when you consider how little it was seen, both then and now, and think about what Keaton went through during the early ’30s, and how cathartic it must’ve been for him to act both as a clever hero and an intimidating, powerful villain…all in all, Le Roi des Champs-Élysées might’ve been meant more for him than anyone else. So there ya go, Lincoln. It’s not real money, of course–only advertisements that Buster’s being paid to distribute. And watching this…you het the feeling that if Buster ever clocked you, you stayed clocked. Oh, thank you for this review. 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