Sous les Toits de Paris = Under the Roofs of Paris

A street singer falls for a pretty Romanian girl whom he protects from her lecherous lover, but he is accused of theft. ‘Sous les toits de Paris’ was one of the first French talkies and a remarkable experiment in sound, both technically and in its discourse on the possibilities of the new medium. Clair chose to use sound only when needed, preferring to tell the story through his visuals as much as through his dialogue. The result is a striking film, boasting beautiful photography and sets, as well as a moving story. The art direction by Lazare Meerson fixed an iconography of Paris - a sweet version of the darker ‘Poetic Realism’, full of street singers, irate concierges and neighbours, and pretty ‘midinettes’. This iconography is often re-used in the form of a nostalgic homage in recent efforts such as ‘Delicatessen’. Reference: Ginette Vincendeau. The Companion to French cinema. London: BFI publishing, 1996.

Credits: Producer, Frank Clifford ; director, Rene Clair ; writer, Rene Clair ; photography, Georges Perinal ; music, A. Bernard ; art direction, Lazare Meerson.
Cast: Polla Illery, Albert Prejean, Gaston Modot, Jane Pierson, Edmond T. Greville, Raymond Aimos.