And God Created Woman (1956 film)
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| And God Created Woman | |
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 French poster |
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| Directed by | Roger Vadim |
| Produced by | Claude Ganz Raoul Lévy |
| Written by | Roger Vadim Raoul Lévy |
| Starring | Brigitte Bardot Curd Jürgens Jean-Louis Trintignant Christian Marquand |
| Music by | Paul Misraki |
| Cinematography | Armand Thirard |
| Editing by | Victoria Mercanton |
| Distributed by | Éditions René Chateau Criterion Collection |
| Release date(s) | France: November 28, 1956 United States October 21, 1957 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
And God Created Woman (French: Et Dieu... créa la femme) (1956) is a French drama film directed by Roger Vadim and starring Brigitte Bardot. It is widely recognized as the vehicle that launched Bardot into the public spotlight and immediately created her "sex kitten" persona.
When the film was released in the United States by distributor Kingsley-International Pictures in 1957, it pushed the boundaries of the representation of sexuality in American cinema, making Bardot an overnight sensation. It was condemned by the Catholic League of Decency. To this day, the scene of Bardot dancing barefoot on a table is considered by some to be one of the most erotic scenes in the history of cinema.[1]
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[edit] Background
Most available prints of the film were heavily edited to conform with the prevailing censorial standards of 1957.[2] A remake of the film was directed by the same director Vadim and released in 1988. In contrast from the French original, the remake is in English.
[edit] Plot
The film narrates the experience of Juliette, an 18 year old orphan with a high level of sexual desires. She also has a propensity to take off her shoes and walk barefoot. These factors caused a stir and attracted the attentions of men.
Her first suitor is the much older and wealthy Eric Carradine (Curd Jürgens). He wants to build a new casino in town, but his plans are being crimped by the Tardieu family who owns a small shipyard on the stretch of land he needs for the development.
Antoine, the eldest Tardieu son, returns home for the weekend to discuss the situation and finds Juliette ready to hook up with him. His intentions are short term, and he spurns her by leaving town without her.
Juliette's guardians have had just about enough of her antics, and threaten to send her back to the orphanage. To keep her in town, Carradine pleas with Antoine to consider marrying her, which he laughs off, but his naive younger brother Michel, secretly in love with Juliette, rises to the challenge and proposes. Despite being in love with his older brother, she accepts. When Antoine is contracted to return home for good, the trouble starts for the newlyweds, and all the men in her life come to realize just what she means to them.
[edit] Cast
- Brigitte Bardot as Juliette Hardy
- Curd Jürgens as Éric Carradine
- Jean-Louis Trintignant as Michel Tardieu
- Jane Marken as Madame Morin
- Jean Tissier as M. Vigier-Lefranc
- Isabelle Corey as Lucienne
- Jacqueline Ventura as Mme Vigier-Lefranc
- Jacques Ciron as The Secretaty of Éric
- Paul Faivre as M. Morin
- Jany Mourey as The Orphanage Representative
- Philippe Grenier as Perri
- Jean Lefebvre as The Man who wanted to dance
- Leopoldo Francés as The Dancer
- Jean Toscano as René
- Marie Glory as Mme. Tardieu
- Georges Poujouly as Christian Tardieu
- Christian Marquand as Antoine Tardieu
[edit] Critical reception
When the film was released in the United States, Bosley Crowther, the film critic for The New York Times, found Brigitte Bardot attractive but the film lacking and was not able to recommend it. He wrote, "[Bardot] moves herself in a fashion that fully accentuates her charms. She is undeniably a creation of superlative craftsmanship. But that's the extent of the transcendence, for there is nothing sublime about the script of this completely single-minded little picture...We can't recommend this little item as a sample of the best in Gallic films. It is clumsily put together and rather bizarrely played. There is nothing more than sultry fervor in the performance of Mlle. Bardot."[3]
73% of critics affliated with the film review website Rotten Tomatoes offers the film positive reviews, giving And God Created Woman a "fresh" rating.[4]
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ And God Created Woman at Film Site by Tim Dirks.
- ^ And God Created Woman (1956 film) at Allmovie.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, October 22, 1957. Last accessed: December 17, 2007.
- ^ ...And God Created Woman. Rotten Tomatoes.
[edit] External links
- Et Dieu... créa la femme at the Internet Movie Database
- And God Created Woman at Allmovie
- And God Created Woman essay at the Criterion Collection by Chuck Stephens
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