IMDb >
Irma la Douce (1963)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsIrma la Douce (1963) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 41 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 5 NEW) |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
5 June 1963 (USA) moreTagline:
A story of passion, bloodshed, desire and death... everything, in fact, that makes life worth living morePlot:
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... full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations moreUser Comments:
"But That's Another Story" more (38 total)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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
147 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #20447) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:18A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:12Filming Locations:
Samuel Goldwyn/Warner Hollywood Studios - 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USAFun Stuff
Soundtrack:
Selections from 'Irma La Douce' moreFAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersWho is the father of the baby?
Is there a real Lord X?
more
more (38 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Irma la Douce (1963)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| More obscene than nudity | aorourke55 |
| Tom Hanks' character in 'The Ladykillers' (2004) | Carrollian |
| favorite quote? | 10emus |
| Lou Jacobi | stevenvh |
| The Title | roons912 |
| Re Make | orangeallstar12 |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| King of New York | Edvard Munch | Billy Liar | Carne trémula | Gone with the Wind |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |














When I first saw Irma La Douce as much as I liked it, I was puzzled by the fact that Billy Wilder had chosen to do this hit musical without any songs in it. Very much like Fanny from a few years ago which also had a French setting and came to the screen without its score. The Broadway cast album was a staple in my house and I certainly enjoyed the songs that Keith Mitchell and Elizabeth Seal and the rest of the cast did on Broadway.
What made it more puzzling was the presence of Bruce Yarnell in the movie cast, the possessor of a really nice baritone voice, he played opposite Ethel Merman in the Lincoln Center revival of Annie Get Your Gun. That together with the fact Shirley MacLaine first made her mark in musical roles, in fact she had starred in the screen version of Can-Can the two years before.
Well, according to the recent biography of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov in fact this film started out as a musical. Somewhere there is some footage of MacLaine, Yarnell, possibly even Jack Lemmon and Lou Jacobi doing some musical numbers lying in a vault somewhere. Wilder said he thought the numbers slowed the pace of the story and midpoint in the film he just scrapped what he had shot and didn't bother with the rest.
Personally I wish he had kept the numbers in, maybe it would have made Irma La Douce run too long. Who knows maybe we'll get to see them some day.
Shirley MacLaine got an Oscar nomination for her performance in the title role. She's a good natured working girl who has the misfortune to get busted by the one cop in Paris who is not winking at prostitution on his first day on his new beat. That would be Jack Lemmon who for his honest law enforcement gets himself fired.
That far from ends it as Lemmon falls for MacLaine and like he did in The Apartment sees himself as her savior. The rest of the film is the ridiculous lengths Lemmon goes to save MacLaine from her life of sin and debauchery.
His one confidante is Lou Jacobi who plays Moustache the owner of a local bistro where the girls and their mecs(that's French for pimp) hang out. His role was originally intended for Charles Laughton.
Billy Wilder has a well deserved reputation as a cynical observer of humankind and had some run ins with several Hollywood greats. But he became an unabashed admirer of Charles Laughton after working with him on Witness for the Prosecution. The tenderest part of that Wilder biography tells about how Wilder kept visiting Laughton up to the end discussing the part with both of them knowing it was never to be. Yet I wish Laughton had lived to do the part. It would really have been special.
Bruce Yarnell's part is that of MacLaine's mec. His career too was tragically cut short by a plane crash that he was killed in later in the decade. Terrific voice, nice screen and stage presence, what a terrible thing to happen.
Though I would have liked to have seen the musical, I can't fault Billy Wilder's production of Irma La Douce. The fact that this came to the screen at all was further demonstration of the Code finally being lifted from the backs of the creative.
Maybe we will see a full blown musical adaptation of Irma La Douce some day. But that's another story.