Lady Killer (1937)

Lucien Bourrache, a good looking non-commissioned officer at the Spahis, is used to charm many women. He met Madeleine Courtois at Cannes. She is beautiful and lives in luxury. He lends her... See full summary »

Director:

Jean Grémillon

Writers:

André Beucler (novel), Charles Spaak (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, Pierre Etchepare

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Gabin	...	Lucien Bourrache, 'Gueule d'Amour'
Mireille Balin	...	Madeleine
Pierre Etchepare	...	Le patron de l'hôtel
Henri Poupon	...	Monsieur Cailloux
Jean Aymé	...	Le valet de chambre (as Jean Ayme)
Pierre Magnier	...	Le commandant
Marguerite Deval	...	Madame Courtois
René Lefèvre	...	René
Jane Marken	...	Madame Cailloux (as Jeanne Marken)
Paulette Noizeux	...	L'épouse au face à main
André Siméon	...	Le patron du restaurant (as Siméon)
Pierre Labry	...	L'imprimeur
Lucien Dayle	...	Un client
Louis Florencie	...	Le dîneur (as Florencie)
Paul Fournier	...	Un client

Storyline

Lucien Bourrache, a good looking non-commissioned officer at the Spahis, is used to charm many women. He met Madeleine Courtois at Cannes. She is beautiful and lives in luxury. He lends her a large amount of money, which she loses gambling. Then she drops him. But Lucien is now in love, and once demobilized, he goes to Paris to find her again. But he's not so sexy without his uniform, and Madeleine and him do not belong to the same milieu.

---

Plot Keywords:

french military | cavalryman | nco | womanizer | french army | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Details

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

15 September 1937 (France)

Also Known As:

A nők bálványa

Filming Locations:

Neubabelsberg, Brandenburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

L'Alliance Cinématographique Européenne (ACE), Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

An overlooked Gremillon work.

Nowadays,when critics speak of Gremillon,they often mention "remorques","lumière d'été" "le ciel est à vous" (which ran into difficulties at the end of the war as "le corbeau" ,but on opposite grounds:Clouzot's work was deemed too black when Gremillon's was judged too "white" ,too "pétainiste".)"gueule d'amour" is rarely talked about.

So "gueule d'amour' is unfairly dismissed as "melodrama".Sure it is,but ,as Stahl,Sirk,Minelli and countless others have shown in America,melodrama is a valuable genre.Gabin, a good-looking legionnaire,is under a bitch's spell.This woman (Balin) dreams of luxury,abetted by an unscrupulous hateful mother.So she stalks rich preys,and Gabin,even if she loves him ,is nothing more than a pastime for her.The best scenes deal with Balin in one of her rich lover's flat ,with her despicable mama who acts as if she's at home,and Gabin's helpless attempts to make her comprehend what true love means.But it's too late,she's rotten to the core.The last part is less convincing:the M.O. of Gabin's former regiment tells his mate he's found love with a wonderful woman.Guess who she is?That's the biggest flaw of the movie and the ending is too predictable.

By and large,"Gueule d'amour" is an absorbing movie which influenced Yves Allégret .The mother character is close to Jane Marken's in

"manèges" (1949).Spiteful gossips will tell it's the same misogyny.