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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in À la recherche de Jean Grémillon (1969)

User Reviews

a couple of observations on the film's unique feeling tone

This film was unique on a couple of counts: 1) it clearly sanctions a crime of passion as something that does not cry out for retributive justice--it elicits sympathy for the perpetrator of the crime much more than for the victim; 2) there is a kind of male bonding between Gabin and his doctor "copain" which suggests that friendship between men can attain a measure of intimacy never possible in their relations with women--and this without a hint of homosexual eroticism. Maybe it was France of the Popular Front that made it all possible.

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