Watch The Story of a Cheat For Free

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

As others have mentioned here, the films of Sacha Guitry seem to have sunk into oblivion in the English speaking world, which is odd since at their best they share much of the same quality and charm as those of Ernst Lubitsch or Max Ophuls, both of whom are still spoken of with deserved reverence.This one might be the most well known of his films, for what that's worth, and is a similar story to Lubitsch's wildly overpraised but markedly inferior 'Heaven Can Wait' - the memoirs of an old rogue's misspent youth. It's a boon that Guitry, working outside of Hollywood censorship, could be much more frank about what his rogue actually got up to - the great weakness of Lubitsch's later film.Much of this film is in fact silent, with Guitry's witty narration being the only speech. There is an excellent performance by Serge Grave as the young Cheat. The best scene is the one where the old Guitry runs into the now elderly Countess whose younger charms he has just been fondly reminiscing over. His discomfort is hilarious.This is not my favourite of Guitry's films - that would still be La Poison - but it's a patchy and a whimsical delight nonetheless. And really, I'm just glad to have discovered all of them.

This was a rare title from the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, one of the few films listed that is either difficult to find or completely unavailable on DVD or online, but thank goodness I found this French film eventually. Basically on his 54th birthday, a Cheat (Sacha Guitry) is sitting in a café writing his memoirs, he recalls his experiences in life, and this is seen in flashbacks. At age 12, the young Cheat (Serge Grave) is caught stealing money from a grocery store, as punishment he is not allowed to enjoy a dinner of mushrooms with his family. These mushrooms turn out to be poisonous, everyone is shocked that he is the only survivor, while his parents, siblings, uncle and grandparents all die. His mother's unscrupulous Cousin Moriot (Pierre Labry) takes charge of him, he uses his inheritance for his own benefit, to the youngster it appears that dishonesty pays. The young Cheat runs away and works at various jobs, such as doorman and hotel bellhop. In Paris, fellow restaurant worker Serge Abramovich (Roger Duchesne) draws the unwilling young Cheat into a plot to assassinate the visiting Czar Nicholas II of Russia, however an anonymous letter (which the Cheat implies he wrote) leads to Abramovich and the other plotters being arrested. The young Cheat finds work at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco as an elevator operator, there he catches the eye of The Countess (Elmire Vautie), a much older woman, they have a fling. Coincidentally, in the present day, the elderly Countess (Marguerite Moreno) and the Cheat are reunited in the café, but to his relief, she does not recognise him. As an adult, the Cheat has a stint in the army, after this ends he decides to work as a croupier in a casino in Monaco, a profession that rewards honesty. However, he is forced to return to the French Army at the start of the First World War, he is injured almost immediately. He is rescued by fellow soldier Charbonnier (Henri Peiffert), who loses his right arm as a result, but the army loses track of the Cheat, allowing him to spend the war reading books. Now a civilian again, the Cheat meets a beautiful woman (Rosine Deréan) at a restaurant, they spend a night together, and she confesses that she is a professional thief. The woman enlists him to help in her in the theft of a valuable ring from a jeweller, though they are successful, the Cheat slips away and returns to working as a croupier. At the roulette table, attractive regular Henriette (Jacqueline Delubac) believes where the ball can land on each spin, and indeed she wins consistently over the next few days. They become partners and she shares her winnings with him, the Cheat then asks her to marry him for convenience, to which she agrees. However, Henriette loses all the money she had won before, other gamblers start winning big, leading to the Cheat being fired, ironically for being unable to cheat, then the couple obtain a quick divorce. He then becomes a professional card cheat, using numerous disguises, then one day, while in disguise, he spots his former wife and the Jewel Thief together at a gambling table, they are evidently friends. The two women are unaware of his identity when the Cheat invites them to share his bet, if he wins, he does, and they go to dinner together, the clueless women indicate they are willing to go to bed with him, he chooses his ex-wife, as they have not slept together before. Later, Charbonnier shows up at the casino, it is only being cheated at baccarat that he reveals he recognises him, fortunately they tie, but filled with shame, the Cheat decides to quit cheating. Charbonnier has unwittingly cured the Cheat of his vice, but he infects him with another, the love for gambling, therefore the Cheat loses all his ill-gotten gains in a matter of months. Back in the present day, the Countess finally recognises her former lover, she tries to recruit him to help rob the house across the street. The Cheat declines, explaining that the house was formerly his, and that since losing his fortune he has embarked on the only honest job that utilises his skills, he is a security officer. Director Sacha Guitry had made a career with work on the stage, but he proves he is capable of something cinematic, based on his own novel, it is a really clever way of creating a film. Apart from the odd dialogue scene in the café, the film consists of Guitry narrating everything, the actors simply use their facial expressions and physicality during the voiceover, this adds to the humour, and it is an interesting story of fortune, seduction and deception, a worthwhile comedy drama. Very good!

This is not my Sacha Guitry film and I know that back in the 1930s he was a sort of auteur--directing, writing and starring in a bunch of light comedies. So, I can compare this film to several of his others and see it comes up very short. The bottom line is that the film starts off with great promise but never really pays off--and at the end it just sort of fizzles."The Story of a Cheat" begins with Guitry sitting at an outdoor café and writing his memoirs. This ruse is used to enable him to narrate his life story for the audience. It starts off exceptionally well--with Guitry learning a lesson when very young that being bad pays off very well! This sort of tongue-in-cheek look at evil would have been great but the film never sustained this. Instead of being a true cheat, the leading man vacillated back and forth and there was never any sort of payoff for the audience. And, instead of the ending making sense of all this, it left me very cold. A clear misfire--mostly because the script needed work. Making the leading man a complete scoundrel would have improved it immensely--such as the way Terry-Thomas behaved in a few of his films such as "School for Scoundrels" or "Too Many Crooks".

This is a rather interesting and originally told movie. It focuses on the life of a charming scoundrel. It doesn't sound that interesting or original but its originality also really is more in the way the movie is being told. It's shot with actual little dialog on it and instead features a witty voice-over (by director/writer/main actor Sacha Guitry himself), who tells the story in an amusing way with a pleasant pace.The movie not just begins with an introduction of the main characters but also that of some of the crew members who were involved with this movie. This already sorts of sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It's a very original and unique little movie, that due to its style and atmosphere also definitely as an highly entertaining one to watch. I wouldn't exactly call the style surrealistic and absurdism is perhaps a better word to describe the movie its style and pleasant, often subtle, comedy.Its style always keeps the movie going and also makes this one of the faster paced movies from the '30's. It's also a reason why the movie is actually quite short, with its about 80 minutes of running time. Even though the movie basically covers the entire life span of a person, it's over before you know it.You'll surely have a good time watching this very pleasant and highly original little film.10/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/