Le plaisir (1952)

Director:

Max Ophüls

Writers:

Guy de Maupassant (stories)
Jacques Natanson (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

19 May 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Three stories about the pleasure. The first one is about a man hiding his age behind a mask to keep going to balls and fancying women...

Plot Keywords:

Pleasure | Painter | Mask | Model | Niece

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Claude Dauphin	...	Le docteur (segment "Le Masque")
Gaby Morlay	...	Denise - la femme d"Ambroise (segment "Le Masque")
Madeleine Renaud	...	Julia Tellier (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Ginette Leclerc	...	Madame Flora dite Balançoire (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Mila Parély	...	Madame Raphaële (segment "La Maison Tellier") (as Mila Parely)
Danielle Darrieux	...	Madame Rosa (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Pierre Brasseur	...	Julien Ledentu - Le commis-voyageur (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Jean Gabin	...	Joseph Rivet (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Jean Servais	...	L'ami de Jean / La voix de Maupassant (segment "Le Modèle")
Daniel Gélin	...	Jean, le peintre (segment "Le Modèle") (as Daniel Gelin)
Simone Simon	...	Joséphine - le modèle (segment "Le Modèle")
Amédée	...	Frédéric - le serveur (segment "La Maison Tellier")
Paul Azaïs	...	Le patron du bal (segment "Le Masque")
Antoine Balpêtré	...	Monsieur Poulain - L'ancien maire (segment "La Maison Tellier") (as Balpétré)
René Blancard	...	Le maire (segment "La Maison Tellier")

Also Known As:

Le plaisir (UK) (USA)
House of Pleasure
Pleasure

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound)

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-12 | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Clécy, Calvados, France

Company:

Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique (CCFC)

Trivia:

Stanley Kubrick's favourite film (as of 1957)

Quotes:

Jean's friend: But, my friend, happiness is not a joyful thing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Infinite Pleasure: Todd Haynes on Max Ophuls' 'Le plaisir' (2006) (V)

Happiness is not a lark

Happiness, says the narrator at the end, is not a lark. And the film believes it, even though as he speaks the glimpses of children playing with kites and daintily placed chairs on the beach (echoing those set out earlier by Gabin in the back of his cart for the visiting prostitutes) continue to evoke the swirling compositional grace and elegance which mark the film's every moment. Far more unpredictable and radical than most portmanteau films, the highlight is the second story, which at first seems to be about a group of men who get together one night when the local brothel is closed, then follows the whores' trip to the country (with a delightful interlude on the train as they share the compartment with an old peasant couple and a randy salesman); then returns to the brothel - Ophuls' highly liberal camera ultimately pans deliriously around the windows from the outside as the place fills with dance, spilling celebration and delight. The many surprises of that story perfectly evoke the enormous span of human emotional experience; it touches on so many dreams of escape whereas the other two episodes, both much shorter and darker, remind us of the occasional price of such dreams.