A FLEA IN HER EAR

France/US, 1968, 94 minutes, Colour.
Rex Harrison, Rosemary Harris, Louis Jourdan, Rachel Roberts, John Williams.
Directed by Jacques Charon.

A Flea in Her Ear is an attempt at an American version of French farce. It is not as light as It should be. This is despite the presence of such talented stars as Rex Harrison, Rachel Roberts, Louis Jourdan, John Williams. The play was written by Jacques Feydeau. Another version of one of his plays was Hotel Paradiso with Alec Guinness and Gina Lollobrigida. While this was made in Paris itself, it didn’t do well in translation from French to English. Perhaps French sex farce needs the light touch and pace and Gallic sensibility. However this production, while enjoyable in its way, is fairly heavy though beautiful to look at.

1. The appeal for enjoyment of this kind of French sex farce?

2. The importance of style, decor, colour, characters, the hotel, contrived identities and situations, mistakes? The style of this kind of humour and its impact and meaning?

3. This kind of film an a comedy of manners? Poking fun at traditional manners, instructing by poking fun? The basic upholding of traditional morality?

4. The re-creation of Paring the world of the early twentieth century, the elegant decor, the use of pastel colours, the picture of high society, the humorous and ironic presentation of the courts, for the rape case etc? The world of fashion and dress? Idle men and idle talk? The Spaniard in the middle of French sophistication?

5. Were the characters delineated an characters or were they presented as types? Typical husbands, typical wives, typical infidelity? The presentation of the minor characters, the servants, the hotel staff?

6. The quality of the humour, how witty was the dialogue, wore the situations too contrived or appropriate? The suspense in mistaken identities and split-second coincidences?

7. The film's treatment of themes of marriage, love, fidelity, adultery, dalliance? How was this exemplified in each of the principal characters? In the servants?

8. What stance did the film take as regards traditional morality? Its attitude towards sexual error, immorality? Public vice, private morals etc.?

9. Comment on the presentation of the situations, the use of timing, the build-up of desperation etc.?

10. The effectiveness of having everybody at the home at the end? The exasperation of Victor? The puzzle of the other characters?

11. How appropriate was Rex Harrison in playing two parts? How effective? The effect for the drama and comedy? The characters of the ladies? Gabrielle's flirting with dalliance but her traditional morality? Suzanne and her mischievousness? The contriving of the letter and its being found? Henri an the typical rake? The immorality and its irony in the character of the doctor? Max and the way that he ran the hotel? The nephew and the jokes about the cleft palate? how appropriate in this film?

12. What was the audience left with at the end? humour and enjoyment, instruction, titivation?