Summary
Arlette is young and pretty, but she is also poor. On leaving a
reformatory, she finds herself alone in Paris, without money or a place
to stay. But Fate smiles on her and she finds a position at
a special kind of school run by Monsieur Aristide, a school where one
is taught the art of theft. In the course of her duties, Arlette
falls for a handsome ambassador, who is in distress because he believes
his wife is having an affair with another man, an attaché named
Pierre de Rougemont. The ambassador decides to put Arlette’s
larcenous skills to good use, by asking her to steal a watch belonging
to the attaché, a watch which he knows contains a photograph
that will confirm his wife’s infidelity. The plan works, but as
surely as Arlette steals the watch, someone will steal her heart before
the evening is out...
Review
Lovers of French cinema who delight in the rich pantheon of supporting
actors that punctuate the industry, like the sprockets on the film
itself, will salivate just by reading the credits to this film: Dora
Doll, Jean Tissier, André Luguet, Julien Carette and the great
Saturnin Fabre. Throw in stars such as Claude Dauphin and
Danielle Darrieux, with the sure hand of Henri Decoin in the director’s
chair, and we surely have another winner from the brilliant
husband-wife director-actress team of Decoin and Darrieux.
The wonderful thing about the films being churned out at this time in France is that, although the last thing that matters with teams like this is the story, the writers actually did spend a little time coming up with a decent plot and then honing it until it gleams. Darrieux was still more or less confined to cute ingénue roles, ingénues who constantly seek new ways to get involved in off-the-wall situations, often involving an older man, and this film isn’t all that different. Consequently, how Mlle Darrieux winds up as a pupil at Saturnin Fabre’s School For Lovable Rogues isn’t nearly as important as the magic that unfolds before the camera. Yet another gem from the Decoin-Darrieux stable of excellence.
© Leon Nock (London, England) 2010
Write a review for this film...
The wonderful thing about the films being churned out at this time in France is that, although the last thing that matters with teams like this is the story, the writers actually did spend a little time coming up with a decent plot and then honing it until it gleams. Darrieux was still more or less confined to cute ingénue roles, ingénues who constantly seek new ways to get involved in off-the-wall situations, often involving an older man, and this film isn’t all that different. Consequently, how Mlle Darrieux winds up as a pupil at Saturnin Fabre’s School For Lovable Rogues isn’t nearly as important as the magic that unfolds before the camera. Yet another gem from the Decoin-Darrieux stable of excellence.
© Leon Nock (London, England) 2010
Write a review for this film...
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Useful links
- Best French films of 2011
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- The best 100 French films
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- The best French romantic comedies
- Other French films of the 1940s
- The best French films of the 1940s
- Other French romantic comedies
- Biography and films of Henri Decoin
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Credits
- Director: Henri Decoin
- Script: Michel Duran, Max Kolpé, Hans Wilhelm
- Photo: André Germain, Robert Lefebvre
- Music: Paul Misraki
- Cast: Danielle Darrieux (Arlette), Claude Dauphin (Pierre de Rougemont), André Luguet (L’ambassadeur), Junie Astor (L’ambassadrice), Charles Dechamps (Le baron Dvorak), Sylvain Itkine (Le premier voleur), Pierre Feuillère (Le second voleur), Jean Hébey (Ponthus), Julien Carette (Yves Calubert), Jean Tissier (Roland Medeville), Saturnin Fabre (Aristide), Roland Armontel (Firmin), Marguerite de Morlaye (La dame au bal), Sophie Desmarets, Dora Doll (La secrétaire), Joffre (Le maire), Marcelle Monthil (Mme Aristide), Geneviève Morel (Marinette), André Nicolle (L’inspecteur), Robert Ozanne (L’adjoint au maire), Sylvain (Le témoin de Roland)
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Runtime: 97 min
- Aka: Beating Heart
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Comedy/Romance






