Two mediocre music-hall actors are long-time friends and colleagues. Realizing that they are not exactly wowing the public with their thespian skills, they try to achieve fame in another way. Inspired by a newspaper account of a real-life "crime of passion" they decide to stage their own criminal drama. If a bloody murder over the affections of a sexy female artist doesn't grab the world's attention, nothing will...
There are many people in this world who would rather eat one of their shoes than watch a black-and-white French comedy from the 1930's. They don't know what they're missing.
"Dead man on the run" is a fine, witty comedy which pokes fun at subjects such as the legal system, penal law, psychiatry, the concept of "a crime of passion" and so on. The enduring fascination of the public with real-life crime also gets a panning. However its most lethal satirical barbs are aimed at the world of the theatre and variété. According to the movie, the theatrical environment crawls with mediocre actors, indifferent colleagues, venal managers and ambitious harlots willing to sell their own grandmothers to the glue factory. About the only thing of value here is publicity - any kind of publicity, as long as it can be converted easily into money.
The screenplay is both inventive and well-constructed. The acting is a delight, with two fine protagonists capable of expressing a whole gamut of acting styles and competence levels.
Mind you, it's not all wit and sparkle. The movie contains a segment in which one of the protagonists flees to Belgium. You'll notice this is yet another occasion for the French to poke fun at French-speaking Belgians, because, you know, Belgians ! Their accent and vocabulary are so weird ! How do they dare to speak, well, dunno, Belgian French ? This kind of thing has been going on for centuries and by now the joke has gotten very, very stale...
There are many people in this world who would rather eat one of their shoes than watch a black-and-white French comedy from the 1930's. They don't know what they're missing.
"Dead man on the run" is a fine, witty comedy which pokes fun at subjects such as the legal system, penal law, psychiatry, the concept of "a crime of passion" and so on. The enduring fascination of the public with real-life crime also gets a panning. However its most lethal satirical barbs are aimed at the world of the theatre and variété. According to the movie, the theatrical environment crawls with mediocre actors, indifferent colleagues, venal managers and ambitious harlots willing to sell their own grandmothers to the glue factory. About the only thing of value here is publicity - any kind of publicity, as long as it can be converted easily into money.
The screenplay is both inventive and well-constructed. The acting is a delight, with two fine protagonists capable of expressing a whole gamut of acting styles and competence levels.
Mind you, it's not all wit and sparkle. The movie contains a segment in which one of the protagonists flees to Belgium. You'll notice this is yet another occasion for the French to poke fun at French-speaking Belgians, because, you know, Belgians ! Their accent and vocabulary are so weird ! How do they dare to speak, well, dunno, Belgian French ? This kind of thing has been going on for centuries and by now the joke has gotten very, very stale...