Put Me In Coach

The Golden Coach (1954) is our latest Jean Renoir movie, the first to star Anna Magnani. Lovely movie with a magnetic leading lady.

It takes place in the 16th century in a dusty colonial capital town in South America. The Viceroy (Duncan Lamont) has ordered a magnificent golden coach from Europe. He plans to pay out of government funds, because he will use it in matters of state. His lover, Gisella Mathews, rather thinks he may give her the coach.

On the same boat (even sleeping in the coach), a troupe of commedia dell'arte players, with Anna Magnani as their Columbina. Soon, the Viceroy is enchanted by Magnani, giving her a rich necklace. This causes her lover to up and  join the army, to fight the peasant insurgency. She is also wooed by a bullfighter, the town’s hero.

The Viceroy is not quite infatuated, but he does give her the golden coach. This happens late in the movie, so the synopsis, “Viceroy causes scandal by giving golden coach to actress,” is somewhat misleading. Or at least, it leaves a lot out.

The best part for me was the commedia. I am a lover of moldy old comedy styles, and the odd, stylized world of commedia dell’arte is one of my favorites. Renoir has made a point of letting his movie mirror a commedia play, with Magnani playing the same role in the troupe and the framing, “real” world. When she is cast out by the ruling elders, she tells them that there is a tradition that when the comedians throw out Columbina, they bow to her. At this, the elders all bow.

Magnani is an interesting choice for the diva. She is rather plain, making men love her by acting. Her “affair” with the Viceroy seems mainly based on him feeling comfortable with her, and her making him laugh. The resolution to the whole mess is clever and satisfying. A fun movie.