The Secret of Polichinelle

The Secret of Polichinelle

Secret de Polichinelle roughly translates as Open Secret. The "secret" in question is an illegitimate child, the offspring of young-and-foolish Henri (Bernard Lacret). The baby is adopted by its grandparents, Monsieur and Madame Jouvenol (Raimu and Francoise Rosay). At first taking charge of the child because it is their duty, the Jouvenols come to love the little nipper as if he were their own son. At this point, the film threatens to drown in a morass of sentiment, but the actors and the director manage to stem the bathos with some first-rate comedy vignettes revolving around the care and feeding of the bouncing baby boy.

Cast for The Secret of Polichinelle...

Raimu
Mr. Jouvenel
Françoise Rosay
Mrs. Jouvenel
André Alerme
Mr. Trévoux
Bernard Lancret
Henri Jouvenel
Alain Michel
Robert Jouvenel
André Siméon
(uncredited)