The Sign of Leo (1959)
"Le signe du lion" (original title)

An American in Paris lives by sponging off his working friends, and throws a party using borrowed money when his rich American aunt dies, believing firmly in his horoscope.

Director:

Eric Rohmer

Writers:

Paul Gégauff (dialogue), Eric Rohmer

Stars:

Jess Hahn, Michèle Girardon, Van Doude

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jess Hahn	...	Pierre Wesselrin
Michèle Girardon	...	Dominique Laurent
Van Doude	...	Jean-François Santeuil
Paul Bisciglia	...	Willy
Gilbert Edard	...	Michel Caron
Christian Alers	...	Philippe
Paul Crauchet	...	Fred
Jill Olivier	...	Cathy
Sophie Perrault	...	Chris
Stéphane Audran	...	La patronne de l'hôtel
Jean Le Poulain	...	Le clochard

Storyline

Pierre Wesselrin is a 40-year-old American who lives in Paris by sponging off his working friends and various wealthy acquaintances. He receives a telegram saying that a rich aunt has died, so he throws a party, using borrowed money of course, and invites all his friends. After discovering that his aunt disinherited him, his luggage is impounded and he is thrown out of his apartment. All his friends are now away for the summer, or are working outside Paris, so he is forced to wander the streets and become a clochard.

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Plot Keywords:

telegram | fortune | composer | fate | poverty | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Italian English

Release Date:

1959 (France)

Also Known As:

Sign of the Lion

Filming Locations:

107 avenue des Champs-Elysées, devant la Crédit Commercial de France, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ajym Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eric Rohmer's first feature film.

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Connections

Referenced in Der Stadtstreicher (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Musique pour un..."
Written by Louis Saguer
Performed by 'Gerard Jarry'

User Reviews

A "street movie"

It is generally easy to detect stylistic or thematic indicators of what is to come in the first features of directors of originality. There are however notable exceptions such as Kazan's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", a worthy but wholly commercial venture, that give little of their creators away. Erich Rohmer's "Le Signe du Lion" however is in an altogether different category. You would expect something of the director's unique way of looking at the world to be present in what is in every sense a significant example of early French New Wave cinema and yet there is nothing I can detect that links it with, for example, "Ma Nuit Chez Maud" or the "Four Seasons" tetralogy. Rohmer went on to become the master of the conversation piece where characters chat endlessly about their philosophy of life, the interchange with others being all-important. How is it that in "Le Signe du Lion" there is so little in the way of dialogue and that in the lengthy central part of the film we simply observe the main character wandering the streets of Paris bereft of friends and money? Pierre is a forty-something American musician who does not appear to have achieved much apart from a violin sonata that often punctuates the film in a way that is again untypical of a director who tends to use very little and more often no background music. Equally untypical is this character who shows little interest in interreacting with others unless it be to touch them for money, the lack of which is the root of his downfall. "Le Signe du Lion" is therefore unique in Rohmer's output in being a solo piece. Other characters are around but they scarcely matter. This is his "Carrie" but unlike the Wyler masterpiece there is no Carrie, only a Hurstwood who slides down the slippery slope into degradation when an expected legacy fails to materialise and friends he might borrow from are all away on holiday. Like Hurstwood, Pierre suffers early on from the tragedy of his only suit being ruined. Later this is followed by his only pair of shoes falling apart. From then on it is but a short step to his acceptance of the lifestyle of a tramp and beggar. The term "road movie" like "film noir" has become a matter of common parlance. May I be allowed to coin a term, that I am not aware of having been used, for a particular genre - "street movie" - one that depicts characters wandering in a city, often round and round in circles in search of something that eludes them, the city becoming progressively more alien. Such a genre would include "Odd Man Out", "Bicycle Thieves", "The Third Man" and certainly this early work by Rohmer. Perhaps because it is so untypical of its director it has become undeservedly overshadowed by works such as "Le Beau Serge", "Les Quatre Cent Coups" and "A Bout de Soufflé" and yet, particularly in the extended sequence of Pierre shuffling aimlessly around the streets of Paris, it can hold its own in this august company. A rather glib ending apart, it remains of of Rohmer's finest achievements.