L'amant de Bornéo

Arletty as a vedette of the Music Hall wearing glamorous outfits and performing stock conjuring tricks whilst not averse to throwing in a little singing (Je crois que c’est arrive) on the side. Naturally she has her admirers and one of them, milquetoast bookseller Jean Tissier (in one of eight films he made in 1942) tests high on self-awareness and figures he stands more of a chance if he does a little work on his image. Accordingly he snaps up any and every piece of exotica he can lay his hands on and transforms a friends apartment into a prototype Theme Park whilst putting himself away as an intrepid explorer who knows Borneo like the back of his Place Vendome. This goes down well with Arletty but lest things go too well she lets it be known that she would love nothing more than to take a trip to Borneo so long as this big, strong man is there to protect her. Before being too harsh with this we should try to remember that it was produced in occupied France and was intended solely as a diversion in wartime. On those terms it succeeds admirably. —IMDb