Pas de femmes review: Fernandel is the only reason to watch

If you are looking for a reason to watch Pas de femmes, it is probably because you saw Fernandel’s name on the list. It is a silly little movie from 1932 that mostly works if you enjoy watching grown men act like terrified toddlers whenever a lady walks into the room.

People who love old-school French farce will get a kick out of this. But if you cannot stand static cameras and stagey acting, you should probably stay far away.

The plot is basically a dare. Two guys decide to live in a house where no women are allowed at all.

Of course, this lasts about five minutes before things get messy. Georgius plays the lead, and he is fine, I guess. He wrote the thing too, so he gives himself all the fast dialogue.

But Fernandel is the real reason to keep your eyes open. Even this early in his career, his face does things that should not be physically possible.

There is this one bit where he looks at a letter and his jaw just sort of... drops forever. It is the kind of physical comedy that does not even need a translation to be funny.

The movie feels like a filmed play, honestly. Characters walk in from the left, say a joke, and walk out to the right like they are on a stage.

It does not have the grand or moody feel of something like The Conquering Power. It is much smaller and much louder.

Some of the jokes are pretty dusty now. Like, really dusty. You can tell they were written for a crowd that had never seen a talking picture before.

There is a lot of shouting. Everyone in 1930s French cinema seemed to think shouting was the same thing as being funny.

I noticed the sets look like they might fall over if someone sneezes too hard. Especially the doors that do not quite shut right.

The sound quality is a bit crackly too. You have to really lean in to hear what they are yapping about over the hiss of the old film.

It is weirdly charming though. In a "this is how people used to laugh" kind of way.

One scene has a woman hiding under a table, and the tension is purely about whether the guys will see her shoes. It goes on for way too long but it's kind of cute.

The editing is choppy. Sometimes a scene just ends and you are suddenly in a different room with no warning.

It is definitely not a masterpiece. Not even close. It feels more like a rehearsal for better movies that came later.

But for a rainy afternoon when you want to see a legend like Fernandel before he was huge, it is fine. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything. 🏠

Didja notice?

• The wallpaper in the main room is actually kind of hideous.
• Fernandel’s teeth seem to get their own zip code in some shots.
• That one extra in the background who looks like he totally forgot his lines.
• The way the music just stops randomly for no reason.