Josette

In America ,Shirley Temple was then the toast of the audience ;so what about casting Fernandel's real-life daughter,Josette, as his co-star?In a story which borrows from "little orphan Annie":isn't this Young heroine cute ,lovely? Hasn't she got a mother suffering from tuberculosis and forced to leave her daughter to get cured?Doesn't she meet by chance an old millionaire ?hasn't she got a (toy) dog? Besides ,Josette has a neighbor with a big heart ,a bank clerk (Fernandel) who gets fired but it does not matter because his ambition is to become a music hall singer .

Becoming a star does not prevent Fernandel from being cheated by a self-interested calculating woman;but the little girl keeps her weather eye open and she wants her friend to become her papa (in the movie).

The daughter is pretty annoying in the long run ,and it was certainly wise not to cast her in another movie.Christian -Jaque ,a seasoned director who made very estimable works ,seems powerless to sustain interest .

Word to the Wise:do pick up Christian-Jaque's " Les Disparus De Saint-Agil"(made the following year) instead :he directed children in it too,but with much more successful results.