A combination of two of the biggest stars in French cinema - Mr Establishment Jean Gabin and the hot new thing Brigitte Bardot (Gabin was never afraid to team up with the young bucks and does... he made films with Delon and Belmondo early in their careers). The story is perfect for both - he's a lawyer defending her for robbery and he becomes infatuated.
It's based on a Georges Simenon novel which means it's got a solid story - or would seem to. Adding to the complications are Gabin's wife (Edwige Feuillere) and Bardot's ex (Franci Iterlenghi). But, as pointed out by the New York Times review of this, while it's got all the elements, the elements don't gel.
Bardot is a crook, Gabin is her lawyer, Gabin falls for Bardot, Bardot has a boyfriend, Gabin has a wife... there should be a solid feature in that. But the development is disappointing - it's really the boyfriend gets jealous and kills Bardot, but that happens at the very end. It feels nasty, typical misogynistic codswallop - the girl being punished. The film lacks another act or two - a reveal that Feuillere did the crime, or Iterlenghi coming after Gabin say, or Feuilliere and Iterlenghi being in cahoots. Other characters keep popping and threatening to do something interesting - Gabin's maid, Bardot's friend, Bardot's accomplice - but they don't.
The film was famous for a scene where Bardot seduces Gabin by lying against a desk, hiking up her skirt to him... showing the audience her backside and Gabin presumably what was on the other side. This was cut in the version I saw. It would've spiced things up.
Still, Bardot is very sexy and quite effective - perfectly cast. Gabin also works in his French Spencer Tracy routine, looking French and tormented and solid. Feuillier is wasted. The photography and production values are first rate.
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