Les parents terribles (1948)

When Michel, who's 22, tells his parents he is in love, his mother Yvonne is distraught, believing she will lose his love (which is the center of her life), and his father Georges is ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean Cocteau

Writers:

Jean Cocteau (play), Jean Cocteau (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean Marais, Josette Day, Yvonne de Bray

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Marais	...	Michel
Josette Day	...	Madeleine
Yvonne de Bray	...	Yvonne dite 'Sophie'
Marcel André	...	Georges
Gabrielle Dorziat	...	Tante Léo

Storyline

When Michel, who's 22, tells his parents he is in love, his mother Yvonne is distraught, believing she will lose his love (which is the center of her life), and his father Georges is distressed because it is Georges' mistress, Madeleine, whom his son loves. Yvonne and Georges financially and emotionally depend on Michel's maiden aunt, Léo, who was once engaged to Georges but gave him up to her sister. Léo resolves to help them separate Michel and Madeleine, choreographs an elaborate meeting at Madeleine's flat where Georges concocts a lie that Madeleine feels she must embrace, and the lovers part. Aunt Léo then has a change of heart and tries to put everything right.

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Plot Keywords:

nouvelle vogue | based on play

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 April 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Storm Within

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, rue Francoeur, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Ariane

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

A fun tragi-comic farce from one of the cinema's best poets.

Jean Cocteau was one of the few artists capable of bridging the gap between reality and the wondrous magic of existence. His "La Belle et la Bete" (1946), and even more so "Orphee" (1949), were masterful and inventive suspensions of reality for the sake of something infinitely more real..

"Les Parents Terribles" was not constructed in the same vein and is a rather simple story of a young man and his terrible parents. The endearing but doofus-like young man is played by the well-sculpted Jean Marais. Somehow, at 35, he looks younger in this film than he did in the 1943 "L' Éternel retour," which was also based on a Cocteau screenplay. The plot revolves around the young man's naive love for a girl who's been having an affair with his dad. Yvonne de Bray (somehow reminding me of Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard") gives an excellent incestual performance as Marais's clingy mother. The story's melodrama chugs along smoothly and only falters for me during one of the last scenes, where it spills too far over the top. Ultimately, the movie is a very enjoyable farce, even if nowhere near Cocteau's true wizardry.