Club de femmes

Jacques Deval was a practitioner of 'boulevard theatre', his most accomplished work being 'Tovaritch' which he tranferred to the screen in 1935. A year later comes 'Club de femmes' which features some fine sequences and excellent performances. The title refers to an hotel run by the well-intentioned but rather naive Mme Fargeton with the assistance of worldy-wise Doctor Audrey and designed to protect young women from the predatory beast that is Man. Not all of the inmates of course wish to be protected, notably Claire, whose attempts to smuggle her lover into her quarters provide some of the funniest moments and Greta who is on the hunt for a male with a big wallet, regardless of his age. Alice's tastes run to the Sapphic and her unrequited love for Juliette has since been pounced upon by 'academics' as an example of 'proto-lesbianism'. 1936 was a busy year for Danielle Darrieux with no less than six films released, notably 'Mayerling'. Although Josette Day's role as Beauty for Cocteau is iconic I consider her performance here as the dumb blonde to be her finest. Valentine Tessier excels as the doctor. An interesting credit is that of assistant director and co-editor Jean Delannoy! Considered rather daring at the time it is now rather quaint but has worn far better than the altogether inferior version made twenty years later.