The Frenchman: A Photographic Interview with Fernandel
by Philippe Halsman
Category: Performing Arts

Making faces: a highly original visual Q&A with France's most beloved comic actor In New York in 1948, photographer Philippe Halsman had a chance meeting with Fernandel, a French movie star from the vaudeville tradition, and asked the actor to participate in a completely original photographic experiment. Halsman would ask Fernandel questions about America to which he would respond using only facial expressions. With his wide, lovable horse-face, Fernandel mimicked the answers to such questions as "Does the average Frenchman still pinch pretty girls in a crowd?" (silly grin) and "What was your reaction to the great American game of baseball?" (perplexed). Fernandel`s reactions are laugh-out-loud funny, and the book that resulted from this unusual collaboration is nothing short of wonderful. The Frenchman has been out of print for over fifty years, but TASCHEN`s reprint thankfully brings it back to life.