Méfiez-vous, mesdames! (1963)
Directed by André Hunebelle

Film Review

3rd October 1963 saw the premiere of Méfiez-vous, Mesdames, a Franco-Italian production directed by André Hunebelle and based on a book by Ange Bastiani entitled Caltez volailles, which can be politely translated as Go Away, Chicken.  Hunebelle started his filmmaking career in 1948 and, until 1958, he specialised in light comedies, such as Mission à Tanger (where Michel Audiard was employed for the first time as screenwriter) and Taxi roulotte et corrida (in which Louis de Funès has his first leading part).  In the 1960s, Hunebelle acquired a certain fame through his lavish swashbucklers, including Le Bossu, Le Capitan, Le Miracle des loups and Les Mystères de Paris, which relaunched the shaky career of actor Jean Marais.  Later, Hunebelle directed four films depicting the adventures of special agent OSS 117, a kind of French James Bond.  These popular successes earned Hunebelle enough cash so that he could make his Fantômas trilogy, teaming Jean Marais and Louis de Funès.  In between, there is Méfiez-vous, mesdames (a.k.a. Be Careful Ladies) - certainly not a masterpiece, but a B-movie which is very typical of the period and whose only raison d'être is to entertain the viewer. 

The film shows a lawyer who takes revenge on women by becoming a cynical self-appointed Don Juan.  The lawyer in question is played by Paul Meurisse, a prolific, first rate actor of stage and screen, who brings an elegance to all of his portrayals, usually with an ironic and disturbing undertone.  He is best known through such classics as Macadam, Les Diaboliques, Le Deuxième souffle, L'Armée des ombres and the trilogy of Monocle films, but he also lent his talents to many amusing comedies, with great commitment and panache.  Méfiez-vous, Mesdames is no exception to this rule, especially as it pits him against such a sparkling quintet of leading ladies: Michèle Morgan, Danielle Darrieux, Gaby Sylvia (sadly all but forgotten), Martine Sarcey (who famously dubbed Audrey Hepburn in many of her film) and Sandra Milo (the Italian goddess of Fellini's 8 1/2).  With such an impressive cast is it any surprise that the film attracted an audience of 1.2 million?

Film Synopsis

Charles Rouvier is a renowned lawyer and also a well-known womaniser.  When he is arrested and sent to prison for two years for helping one of his clients, he becomes obsessed with taking his revenge against women.  Some of Charles' fellow prisoners take pity on him and offer him some essential advice on how to take advantage of the female kind.  Soon after his release, Charles puts a personal ad in the newspapers: "Respectable gentleman is looking for..."  The next morning, our irresistible seducer is overwhelmed by mail and begins to prepare his hunting ground.  His first victim is a seductive but horribly talkative woman named Florence.  Charles soon gets the impression that Florence may be a Landru in petticoats when she confesses she has already lost four of her "dear husbands" in disturbing circumstances.  Charles' subsequent encounters with his potential victims are just as unpromising and he is bound to end up asking himself: "Who's chasing who...?"