Le Roman d’un tricheur starts when the hero of the story is a child (Serge Grave) and banned from eating dinner one night after stealing money from his parents' shop. Mushrooms are on the menu that night and his whole family dies of food poisoning. Our hero is left alone, having learned that stealing saved his life and wondering whether his family had died because they were honest! From that moment, Guitry's character makes an ally of trickery and profits from it for the rest of his life.

Considered Sacha Guitry’s masterpiece, this witty, fast-paced tale about a gambler and petty thief is a whimsical delight. Guitry himself stars as the “tricheur” looking back fondly on a life of crime, which he narrates with an effervescence matched by his clever editing and cinematography. Having almost no dialogue, the film could be described as a silent film with voice-over commentary, in which the film’s central character narrates the story of his life. Astonishingly, one scarcely realizes that until the film is finished, so fittingly have Guitry's unmistakable voice and Adolphe Borchard's score accompanied the action.

With its rapid storytelling and inventive use of voice-over, Le Roman d'un tricheur's style has influenced filmmakers from Orson Welles to François Truffaut. Le Roman d’un tricheur is a hugely entertaining comedy, featuring some unforgettable visual comic gags.

Shown with Pyramids by Peter Wigand

Q&A with J. Greenberg follows the Saturday screening.