Bonjour tristesse (1958)

Cecile, decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest, comes to Raymond's villa, Cecile is afraid for her way of life.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Arthur Laurents (screenplay), Françoise Sagan (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deborah Kerr	...	Anne Larson
David Niven	...	Raymond
Jean Seberg	...	Cecile
Mylène Demongeot	...	Elsa
Geoffrey Horne	...	Philippe
Juliette Gréco	...	Herself
Walter Chiari	...	Pablo
Martita Hunt	...	Philippe's Mother
Roland Culver	...	Mr. Lombard
Jean Kent	...	Mrs. Helen Lombard
David Oxley	...	Jacques
Elga Andersen	...	Denise
Jeremy Burnham	...	Hubert
Eveline Eyfel	...	Maid

Storyline

Cecile, decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest, comes to Raymond's villa, Cecile is afraid for her way of life.

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Plot Keywords:

father | french riviera | riviera | playboy | guilt | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bom Dia, Tristeza

Filming Locations:

Côte d'Azur, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wheel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Preminger always liked this film, although he felt the American critics did not do it justice. The film was a qualified success in France, yet American critics felt the film wasn't French enough, a detail that amused Preminger.

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Goofs

We hear the Band at c.6'50" and we see a clarinet-player performing, but the music has no clarinet part whatsoever included at that point in the soundtrack. Later, when the clarinet does eventually join the soundtrack, the fingering of the player bears absolutely no relation to the music actually being heard.

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Quotes

Cecile: Albertine! I mean Léontine! Slight maid problem. Some weird sisters rotate working for us.
Anne Larson: Weird? How?
Cecile: Every week one or the other is suddenly stricken with some odd malady. Maybe it's us.
Maid: Yes, Mademoiselle?
Cecile: Oh! Léontine...
Maid: Léontine has a bad liver. I am her sister, Claudine.

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Connections

Referenced in The Good Time Girls (1960)

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Soundtracks

"Bonjour Tristesse"
Music and Lyrics by Georges Auric
Sung by Juliette Gréco

User Reviews

a reflection on Seberg

This is an absorbing, intriguing and slightly bizarre film. I agree with the other comments here - the camera work is beautiful, the Riviera looks fab, Seberg is startling, and David Niven (how come no-one's mentioned his performance yet?) is a particularly slimy, lecherous old man. Seberg really does deliver an excellent performance. She's a fascinating person anyway, and here her ambiguity, her modernity, her beauty and her youth all come into their own. And the title song's fab too! Well worth a watch, if only to revel in the stunning scenery and Seberg's haunting screen presence.