A 45-minute French slapstick where child abuse solves workplace problems. Cinema was different in '31.
Boule de Gomme is a child actor. On the set of the film he is shooting he gets on the nerves of the director and of the all crew by being off the beat when he is asked to cry or to laugh. Nobody manages to reason with him, with the exception of a grip who uses the rough way. A good beating and everything comes right in the end. The grip is promoted to the rank of production manager.
Direction
Lacombe leans hard into slapbeat rhythm, for better and worse.
Acting
Jane Pierson's adult tantrums outshine the actual child performer.
Director
Georges Lacombe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This short captures the awkward transition from silent to sound cinema, where directors experimented with 'talkie' pacing through pure chaos. The title 'Bubble Gum' has no apparent connection to the plot—possibly a mistranslation or distributor's random choice.
Georges Lacombe would later direct French noir classics, making this early comedy a fascinating glimpse of a major talent finding his footing through sheer tonal confusion. The grip's promotion mirrors real studio hierarchies where technical crew advanced through loyalty, not merit.
FR
