Michel Simon gives one of the most memorable performances in screen history as Boudu, a Parisian tramp who takes a suicidal plunge into the Seine and is rescued by a well-to-do bookseller, Edouard Lestingois. The Lestingois family decides to take in the irrepressible bum, and he shows his gratitude by shaking the household to its foundations. With Boudu Saved from Drowning, legendary director Jean Renoir takes advantage of a host of Parisian locations and the anarchic charms of his lead actor to create an effervescent satire of the bourgeoisie.
Michel Simon
as Priape Boudu
Marcelle Hainia
as Emma Lestingois
Sévérine Lerczinska
as Chloë Anne Marie, la Bonne
Jean Gehret
as Vigour
Max Dalban
as Godin
Jean Dasté
as L'Étudiant
Charles Granval
as Édouard Lestingois
Geneviève Cadix
as la petite fille
Jacques Becker
as Le Poète (uncredited)
Georges D'Arnoux
as Un Invité à la Noce (uncredited)
Régine Lutèce
as la jeune femme au chien perdu
Jane Pierson
as Rose, la Voisine (uncredited)
