Thomas the Impostor - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Thomas the Impostor (French: Thomas l'imposteur) is a 1964 French film directed by Georges Franju and starring Emmanuelle Riva, Fabrice Rouleau, Sophie Dares, Jean Marais and Charles Aznavour. It is based on a novel of the same name by Jean Cocteau, which had first been published in French in 1923 and had been inspired by Cocteau's experiences in the first World War. An American edition of the novel, translated into English by Lewis Galentiere, was published in 1925 under the title Thomas the Impostor, and another English translation by Dorothy Williams was subsequently published in 1957 under the title The Impostor. The film was entered into the 15th Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

The film is set during World War I, as Paris is expected to fall to the Germans. The Princesse de Bormes, a widow, helps wounded soldiers by evacuating them from the front and bringing them to her villa in Paris for medical care. However, the authorities will not give the Princess and the soldiers passes to return to Paris. The situation changes when an innocent 16-year-old boy, Guillaume Thomas de Fontenoy, joins the authorities and is mistaken as the nephew of the popular General de Fontenoy. Thomas is able to use his position of posing as the general's nephew to cut through the red tape, in order to help the Princess. She is entranced by Thomas, and her daughter, Henriette, falls in love with him. However, Thomas feels impelled to see more war action. Later, he is caught behind enemy lines when he is moved with a military unit into the heat of battle.