French Dressing (1964) 86m
After earning his wings with television specials for the arts programme
MONITOR, Ken Russell was offered the Cliff Richard vehicle SUMMER HOLIDAY
for his feature film debut, but turned it down to make this breezy comedy
instead. A deckchair attendant (James Hill), entertainment officer (Roy
Kinnear) and freelance reporter (Alita Naughton) plan to boost the flagging
attendance of a low-rent seaside resort by importing sexy French actress
Francoise Fayol (Marisa Mell) to host a film festival. Russell obviously
felt comfortable opting for this project because of his affection for the
chintzy side of showbiz, which in this instance would allow him to stage
tatty dance acts, talent shows, photo shoots, street parades, brass bands,
and even a dubiously arty film-within-the-film. The continental connection
also gave him an excuse to use Georges Delerue as composer, whose work on
JULES AND JIM was more than likely in the back of his mind throughout
shooting.
Because FRENCH DRESSING's reputation has been largely based upon its
unfavourable opening reviews (it has always been the most elusive of
Russell's films to see) it has generally been poorly regarded. There's
never been any argument about Russell's visual talent, and stylistically his
debut is full of confidence, but FRENCH DRESSING's problem is not its
direction as much as its lack of direction. Russell cuts the actors adrift,
which might be a dream for egotistical stars who always cite creative
differences as the major hindrance of their performances, but spells
disaster for novices and hams. As the sailor-suit wearing love interest
Naughton is cute when she's smiling, laughing, and joining in the antics of
the others, but far less successful whenever she's snapping at Hill or
dropping in and out of her wayward American accent. She's not given much
support by Hill, whose idea of flirting is to leer, grope, and make
wisecracks – would anyone care if they didn't get together? And it doesn't
help that the pivotal role of the French film star is played by an Austrian
actress who had never made an English-language film before. Faced with the
inexperience of fleshing out characters for the length of a feature, Russell
shuffles his actors around in daft montages, tableaux and speeded-up
footage. Despite failing points FRENCH DRESSING still manages to be one of
the most light-hearted efforts from the irreverent director, who was
liberated with a widescreen palette after years of working for TV – the
energy and humor of its opening scenes anticipate his up-and-coming
contemporary Richard Lester. Among the film's bright spots are the cheesy
entrance of the Mayor and his committee into the talent show; Naughton
sitting on the pier watching the ferry depart across the Channel; Kinnear's
brief attempt to converse in French; the tacky parade floats that are
supposed to promote Anglo-Gallic relations; and the final shot of the trio
walking away without a care for their failed venture.
FRENCH DRESSING was made on the cusp of the Swinging Sixties, but isn't as
dated as other films of the period that tried to ingratiate themselves on
new and emerging hip audiences. It's just as carefree as the spirit of the
times would like to be remembered but too caught up in its own world to
reference any political or social climate (no-one has a 'real' job and the
seaside setting not only highlights the freedom of the great outdoors but
gives the impression that everyone is on holiday). Russell was
disillusioned after its indifferent reception and returned to making
television specials about composers and artists (something he may have
already been thinking about when he put Kinnear in a Bach t-shirt for one
scene) until he was offered a second chance and a bigger budget for BILLION
DOLLAR BRAIN some years later. Trivia Footnote: Russell did end up working
with Cliff Richard in 1988 when he made a video clip for his pro-ecology
song 'She's so Beautiful' – only to have it banned by the BBC, who objected
to images of the Earth being kicked around and set on fire.
sburridge@hotmail.com
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