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 5 wins & 7 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	...	Inspector 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 | red light district | police officer | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

A story of passion, bloodshed, desire and death... everything, in fact, that makes life worth living

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Irma la dulce

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

The two cars that go to and fro in the street are a Citroën 2CV and a Renault 4CV, the police cars are Renault Dauphines and the vintage car used in the jail break is a Renault 6CV Torpedo.

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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

Moustache: Shows you the kind of world we live in. Love is illegal - but not hate. That you can do anywhere, anytime, to anybody. But if you want a little warmth, a little tenderness, a shoulder to cry on, a smile to cuddle up with, you have to hide in dark corners, like a criminal. Pfui.

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Connections

Spoofs Lolita (1962)

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Soundtracks

Our Language of Love
Music by Marguerite Monnot
Original French lyrics by Alexandre Breffort
English lyrics by Julian More, David Heneker and Monty Norman
Theme song played several times in the background of André Previn score.

User Reviews

Why so little shown?

Billy Wilder's Irma la Douce is an absolute gem. Coming after 'Some Like it Hot' and 'One, Two, Three' and before the similarly undervalued 'Kiss Me, Stupid' it is part of Wilder's most creative period. Shirley Maclaine is perfect as the hooker with the heart of gold and Lemmon is hilarious as the protective lover.

Largely shot in studio, Wilder makes hay with the control that this gives him, with a fabulous market where Lemmon works to keep Irma off the streets.

It is such a joy to see Lou Jacobi in the pivotal role of Moustache. His line delivery cannot be faulted and he is given many of the film's funniest moments.

It is also a joy to watch a great wit like Wilder show us that prostitution is a way of earning a living, not a social problem. May you smile in Heaven, Billy!