Paul Frankeur brings a burly, good-natured presence to crime films, comedies and Buñuel's disrupted dinners. We value his restraint in the latter, where he makes the guests convincing without making their behaviour any less objectionable.
Fi1m perspective
In The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Paul Frankeur keeps François Thévenot believable while the dinner plans grow increasingly absurd. We laughed because he and his fellow guests took their expectations so seriously; the restraint gives us time to notice their entitlement. It is a fine use of an actor who can make people seem ordinary in circumstances that plainly are not. We rate his contribution highly, though it would be a mistake to separate it from the company he keeps.
Through the 1940s and 1950s, Frankeur worked steadily in supporting parts, often in crime films alongside Jean Gabin. Police inspectors, café owners and former criminals suited a burly, good-natured presence and a distinctive Parisian delivery. His parts included Marcel in Jacques Tati's Jour de Fête (1949) and Pierrot in Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954), one of his films with Gabin. Those credits are useful reminders that Buñuel was drawing on an actor already accustomed to both crime and comedy.
The Buñuel collaborations began with The Milky Way (1969), in which he played Pierre, and extended to the innkeeper in The Phantom of Liberty (1974). There were three films together, with The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie between them. What interests us about that turn is how useful Frankeur's matter-of-fact acting becomes when events grow difficult to explain. In the dinner comedy, he gives us someone to believe in without requiring us to approve of him.
In The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Fernando Rey's composure and the practised social niceties of Delphine Seyrig and Stéphane Audran give Frankeur something precise to work alongside. Bulle Ogier and Jean-Pierre Cassel help him keep the company convincing as the situations become less plausible. Nobody needs to compete for the joke, and Frankeur's restraint helps the comedy work without anyone forcing a laugh. A few of Buñuel's interruptions repeat a point already made; the actors keep the people entertaining even when the device begins to tire. Start here for Frankeur, but watch the others too: his performance makes more sense in company.
Biography
Paul Frankeur was a French actor born on 29 June 1905 in Paris. He died on 27 October 1974 in Nevers, France. He appeared in over fifty films, often in supporting roles as police officers, café owners or former criminals.
Frankeur began his career in cabaret and theatre before making his screen debut in Nous les gosses (1941). He gained notice for his role as a police inspector in Children of Paradise (1945) and appeared in Jacques Tati's Jour de fête (1949). He frequently worked with Jean Gabin.
Later in his career he featured in several Luis Buñuel films, including The Milky Way (1969), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) as François Thévenot, and The Phantom of Liberty (1974) as an innkeeper. He was sometimes credited as Paul Francoeur.
