BLONDINE (1945)
Article 4307 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-10-2013
Directed by Henri Mahe
Featuring Georges Marchal, Nicole Maurey, Michele Philippe
Country: France
What it is: Fairy Tale

A beautiful woman sets out on a quest to save a handsome prince from an evil queen.

I’m guessing somewhat on the plot description above because my print of this is in unsubtitled French, so I may have certain plot details awry. Still, I’m not sure that it’s the plot that is the prime attraction here (though I will add that if my plot description is correct, it’s the reverse of the usual fairy tale subject). No, it’s the wonderful set design and art design that give this one its flavor; at one time or another, I found myself comparing the visual look to the work of any number of highly visual directors and artists, such as Melies, Cocteau, Capek, Dr. Seuss, Escher or Dali. Most of my sources list the giant (who only appears fleetingly as far as I can tell) as the fantastic content, but there are a number of dwarfs as well, a walk under the water, a group of flower people, and many other fantasy touches. I’m not sure why it only has a 5.0 rating on IMDB; you’d think that its visual sense alone would rate it a little higher. Nevertheless, I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to rescue this one from my “ones that got away” list and enjoy it as well as I did.