La Parisienne (1957)

The "woman of Paris" of the title is Brigitte Laurier, the gorgeous blonde twenty-something daughter of the French President, played by her namesake La Bardot. (Contrary to what the synopsis on my DVD cover might say, Monsieur Laurier is not an "Ambassador"). Now you might think that just about every heterosexual male in the France of the 1950s would have been passionately in love with the fair Brigitte, but in this film she is suffering from a severe case of unrequited love. The man in question is Michel Legrand – not the famous musician of that name, but a handsome aide to her father. The reason for Michel's lack of ardour is not that he is gay, blind or mad, but simply that he is far more interested in his various mistresses, even though they are generally married and both older and less attractive than Brigitte.Despite Michel's lack of interest, Brigitte is nothing if not persistent, and in one particularly farcical scene she is able to trick him into marriage. He is placed in a dilemma whereby he has to choose between admitting (falsely) to being Brigitte's lover, in which case her father will insist on their marrying in order to preserve the good name of the family, or admitting (truthfully) to being the lover of a married woman, which as the deceived husband is one of his colleagues will probably lead to a scandal and the end of his career.Marriage, however, does not seem to calm Michel down, and he soon falls back into his old ways, making assignments with his old flame Monique Wilson. To teach him a lesson, therefore, Brigitte tries to arouse his jealousy by pretending to flirt with Prince Charles, the husband of Queen Greta, a European monarch currently on a State Visit to France. As Brigitte's father is their host, it is easy for her to gain access to the Royal couple.Again, my DVD cover gets it wrong here. It says that "Charles and Greta fly back to England", but they are not- officially at least- British. They supposedly represent a fictitious European, possibly Scandinavian, country. It did, however, occur to me that the characters might have been inspired by the way in which the British Royal Family was viewed in the late fifties. Just as Elizabeth II was in 1957, Greta is a beautiful young woman in her early thirties, but comes across as rather staid and conservative, obsessed with her official duties to the exclusion of all else, and not a lot of fun. Charles, like Prince Philip, is older than his wife and often seen dressed in naval uniform. Although there is no evidence that Philip was ever unfaithful, there was a lot of speculation around this period that he had a roving eye- as Charles certainly does. The use of the name "Charles" might have been a coded hint that the screenwriter had the British monarchy in mind, even though the real Prince Charles would only have been a young boy at the time. (Dalton Trumbo had done something similar in "Roman Holiday" four years earlier when he called his royal heroine, clearly based upon Queen Elizabeth, "Princess Anne").Bardot was often described as a "sex kitten", a term which did not necessarily refer to her youth as the description continued to be applied to her even in her thirties. The implication of the phrase was that, at least in her comic roles, she combined sexual attractiveness with a certain innocence and playfulness; in this her screen persona was somewhat similar to that of Marilyn Monroe. (Indeed, Brigitte was sometimes regarded as France's answer to Marilyn).This film is a good example of what I mean, The Anglo-Saxon peoples have often regarded the French- sometimes enviously, sometimes censoriously- as being more progressive and permissive in sexual matters than their own countries, but in fact during the 1950s France was probably as conservative in such matters as anywhere else in the Western world and operated its own system of film censorship. At this period a fully-fledged French sex comedy would probably have been unthinkable as a British or American one, but "Une Parisienne" has a lot in common with "sophisticated" Hollywood comedies of the time such as the Monroe vehicle "The Seven Year Itch". It is a film where there is a lot of talk about adultery, but no nudity and no sex scenes; when two characters end up in the same bed they both remain fully clothed. We are never sure whether all that talk is ever anything more than just talk; Brigitte and Charles never actually cheat on their respective spouses, although he certainly has the intention of doing so, and a discreet veil is left drawn over the question of whether Michel and Monique actually sleep together after his marriage.The story is an ingenious one and is handled with a good deal of wit and style. Bardot (a much better actress in her native language than she ever was in English) is absolutely adorable. Hollywood did not have a monopoly on sophisticated comedy in the fifties. 8/10

Rule #1 for any romantic comedy is that you have to like the characters. And, in this way, "La Parisienne" is certainly no great rom-com. It's characters are, to put it bluntly, annoying. Michel (Henri Vadal) is a pig who has just married the most beautiful woman on the planet--yet keeps mistresses. Brigitte (Brigitte Bardot) is a stalker who KNOWS Michel is a pig but tricks him into marrying her--and then spends the rest of the film after marrying him treating him like dirt. This is supposed to be funny and romantic? So what do you have apart from two annoying characters? Well, a nice cameo by Charles Boyer, Bardot is GORGEOUS and there are lots of nice bits of scenery in the south of France. But together, these still aren't enough of a reason to watch this film.

Of all the 48 films of Brigitte Bardot, "Une Parisienne" is widely regarded as (one of) her best. What we see is special: for once the plot has a value of its own, does much more than only providing a cheap vehicle for BB's sex-charged appearance.This film is your true & well worked-out light comedy, with a good and coherent story. Set in France's government circles in the late 1950's, it entertains from beginning to end. Providing many amusing twists & turns and some slapstick -- all acted out by at least three starring leads, including Bardot."Une Parisienne" (= French for "female inhabitant of Paris") focuses on telling a story, not on showing Brigitte Bardot. Brigitte serves the plot very well by using her talent for acting in light comedies.When you settle on your couch on a Friday-night, tired and weary from a week's slaving away, just turn on "Une Parisienne". This film will make you feel better.

Most of the Brigitte Bardot movies I've seen have failed to take full advantage of her captivating screen presence. Unfortunately, she was given few really good roles in movies of undeniable quality, which was a real oversight. She deserved them and was able to demonstrate her full cinematic power when they came her way. As Genevieve in "Love on a Pillow" we had a clear exception to the trend of light, fluffy vehicles, for it was an interesting, artistic film by any reasonable measure, and in it, a 28-year-old BB was at her most alluring. "Une Parisienne" is another, featuring an extremely captivating Brigitte in an interesting, well-crafted comedy that explores how an ambitious lady's man can be convinced to remain faithful to an incredibly beautiful young wife. There are several good performances here. Her playboy husband, Michel, is one, "the prince," played by Charles Boyer, is another, with entertaining efforts by a good supporting cast. As for Brigitte Bardot, the way she looks in this movie is the way I remember her as a kid in the fifties. She was 23 in 1957 and way ahead of her time, more beautiful than any other actress of the period, including Marilyn Monroe. Her curvy, coquettish sexuality, amply displayed in several bosom-baring, skintight dresses, simply jumps off the screen. She was more hip and cute than the women of America are today, nearly fifty years later. Obsessed with their careers and still desperately clinging to feminist politics, they come off like a bunch of clueless lesbians. In stark contrast, the sex kitten was sexually liberated, intelligent, and clearly independent long before it was fashionable, yet while fully understanding the power of her exceptional femininity, she used it for a higher purpose than mere self-interest -- she believed in love. A still photo simply could not do her justice. You had to watch her slender yet voluptuous form (with its 20-inch waist) lightly cross a room. You had to see that wild blonde mane, gaze into her big, brown, seductive eyes, and listen as her full, pouting lips spoke French. In a closeup at the end of this movie she winks and flirts with the camera, her beautiful orbs twinkling. What a babe! For fans of Brigitte Bardot, "Une Parisienne" is not to be missed.