Je hais les acteurs (1986)

I like this movie a lot! I think it's one of the funniest movies I have seen. Set in Hollywood in early 40's, these French actors played Americans in the movie. The style of the title is very much like Sunset Boulevard, so is the music. Jerome B. Cobb (Bernard Blier), the boss of a big production, is making Son of Destiny, a movie which they believe will be bigger than Gone With The Wind. His main actor who plays the lead role dies, followed by his replacement, and again the 3rd actor dies. The police suspect their agent, Orlando Higgins (Jean Poiret), and have him arrested each time but must free him due to lack of proof. Who is the real killer?

 The movie begins in colour, Washington in early 80's, when Higgins is already an old man, then flashback to Hollywood in the 40's in black and white. The police in this movie is pathetic and reporters (and me) laugh at the inspector during press conference. The detective here are Korman, the writer of Son of Destiny, and Devlin, a journalist.

If in L'assassin habite au 21 the police arrest 3 different suspects, here the suspect is only 1. Apart from having the movie set to the 40's, I sense the revival of old times, too. Movies at that time were different from modern ones. The way the actors say their lines, I feel that it was really an old movie made in the 40's or 50's instead of 80's.

My favourite part is the meeting between Cobb and his creative department. In order to solve the murder (and save the production), Cobb does not consult the police, but gather writers who work for him and ask them what they think and who they think the murderer is.