Diary of a Chambermaid (1946)

Director

• Jean Renoir

Starring

• Paulette Goddard
• Burgess Meredith
• Hurd Hatfield
• Francis Lederer
• Judith Anderson

Last On

12:50-14:40 Wed 28th Apr 2010 110m
Film4

Synopsis

Although ostensibly a vehicle for Paulette Goddard, penned and co-produced by her then-husband, Burgess Meredith, this is also a bold attempt by Jean Renoir to make a comedy of domestic manners in the style of his own La Règle du Jeu, within the strictures of the Hollywood system. But his intentions are undermined by the inconsistent playing of a seemingly well-chosen cast. Goddard lacks the subtlety to carry off the gold-digging Celestine, the chambermaid of the title, while admirers Hurd Hatfield and Francis Lederer are too self-conscious. Eugene Lourie's sets are also overly intrusive. Yet Meredith's adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's novel, and Renoir's slyly satirical direction about the class system and hypocrisy are not without merit.