The Ostrich Has Two Eggs

'My wife's cheating on me, my son's got a boyfriend... Vive la famille!' ironises Fresnay in the gruff bark he favoured for comedies. This adaptation of a play by André Roussin (who also fancied himself as an actor) has zero entertainment value or cinematic interest, but it remains significant sociologically for having, mid-century, a leading character who is gay and sympathetic. Not only that, but the traditional 'heavy' figures (e.g. the womanising younger brother) all accept Lolo's gayness and try to help him; even Dad comes around when one of his son's frock designs wins a big cash prize. Who plays this phenomenon? No one. In a virtuoso job of construction, Lolo is kept off-screen from start to finish, evidently on the calculation that audiences would be more inclined to accept an abstract sympathetic gay. Still, as incremental progress goes, this counted as a moderate increment.