Irma la Douce (1963)

In Paris, an ex-cop falls in love with a prostitute, and tries to get her out of that life by paying for all of her time. Not so easy...

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Alexandre Breffort (play), Billy Wilder,

Stars:

Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Lou Jacobi

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Lemmon	...	Nestor Patou / Lord X
Shirley MacLaine	...	Irma La Douce
Lou Jacobi	...	Moustache
Bruce Yarnell	...	Hippolyte
Herschel Bernardi	...	Insp. Lefevre
Hope Holiday	...	Lolita
Joan Shawlee	...	Amazon Annie
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Kiki the Cossack
Paul Dubov	...	Andre
Howard McNear	...	Concierge
Cliff Osmond	...	Police sergeant
Diki Lerner	...	Jojo
Herb Jones	...	Casablanca Charlie
Ruth Earl	...	One of the Zebra Twins
Jane Earl	...	One of the Zebra Twins

Storyline

Naive, by the book French police officer Nester Patou, is transferred to the Red Light district. Upon witnessing what must be a brothel, he calls the station and organizes a raid, transporting all the 'ladies' to the jail. This unfortunately disrupts the well organized system of the police and the Pimps union. Not to mention inadvertently netting his station superior at the brothel. Fired, he goes to a bar to drink, is befriended by Irma, beats up her pimp, and finds he is now Irma's new pimp. Nester's doesn't like the thought of his girl seeing other men, so comes up with a plan.

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Plot Keywords:

pimp | police | love | red light district | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

Come along on the wildest joy-ride of them all...

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Mädchen Irma la Douce

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The, Phalanx Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Throughout the film there are two small cars that go back and forth and are indeed the only two cars that appear in the film - one of the cars is a '53 Renault, the other seems to be a Peugeot.

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Goofs

When Nestor and Irma first meet, Nestor says he received a medal for performing 'mouth to mouth respiration' on a drowning child. Of course, he means 'mouth to mouth resuscitation'.

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Quotes

Irma La Douce: You know, I'm sort of glad about that girl in Dijon, with the cough.
Nestor Patou: You are?
Irma La Douce: Because frankly, in the police van I thought that you'd never in your life, uh...
Nestor Patou: Oh, she wasn't the only girl. I've had more than one girl.
Irma La Douce: How many?
Nestor Patou: Altogether? Oh, let me see...
Irma La Douce: Three?
Nestor Patou: Not as many as that.

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Connections

Referenced in SeaChange: Love Me or Leave Me (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Selections from 'Irma La Douce'"
Music by Marguerite Monnot
Used throughout the background score

User Reviews

One of Wilder's most divisive film's amongst his fans.

Adapted from Alexandre Breffort's stage musical, Irma la Douce in film form turns into something of a roller-coaster ride. Even allowing for the absence of the songs {a major gripe with purists}, the film is far too bloated to really achieve the heights of being a great comedy classic. If it had been condensed to perhaps a 100 minute film then I think it could of achieved the splendour that some sequences hint at. As it is tho there is still much to enjoy, and nobody should be under the allusion that this film isn't funny, because it is, but just how long can you stretch the joke Mr Wilder?.

I think the chief thing that sticks out is just how did Wilder get such an overtly sexual farce past the censors? He pushes the boundary more than usual with this one, and I honestly would be surprised if he himself wasn't surprised to get away with so much cheeky sexual shenanigans. The sets are fabulous from Alexandre Trauner, and Andre Previn's score is perfect and in tune with the Parisian heart of the film, but the lead actors here are oddly not firing on all cylinders.

Jack Lemmon's hopeless romantic Nestor is the core humour character. A character who becomes jealous of himself! His transformation into an English fop is hilarious at first, but on, and on, and on it goes till the joke becomes a heavy weight on the film's shoulders. Lemmon is fine, he's just the victim of over ambition from Wilder. Shirley MacLaine is the title character and it doesn't quite come off, sure she gives it gusto and she looks fabulous {as always}, but the role cried out for a more cosmopolitan actress, and this again comes down to Wilder losing site of things with this particular project.

It's a safe recommend for Lemmon fans, but for Wilder worshippers such as me the problems are evident in spite the film being his highest grossing film of the decade. A cautionary 7/10.