Beauties of the Night (1952)

A young composer has vivid dreams of the past that reflect, yet conflict with his waking life.

Director:

René Clair

Writers:

René Clair (scenario), René Clair (adaptation)

Stars:

Gérard Philipe, Martine Carol, Gina Lollobrigida

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gérard Philipe	...	Claude - un jeune compositeur rêveur
Martine Carol	...	Edmée 1900 / Edmée de Villebois
Gina Lollobrigida	...	La caissière du Grand Café / Leïla 1830
Magali Vendeuil	...	Suzanne - la fille du garagiste / Suzanne 1789
Marilyn Buferd	...	La postière / Madame Bonacieux (as Marylin Bufferd)
Raymond Bussières	...	Roger - le garagiste / le tambour
Raymond Cordy	...	Gaston / Le marquis
Bernard Lajarrige	...	Léon - le gendarme
Albert Michel	...	Le facteur / Un révolutionnaire
Palau	...	Le vieux monsieur qui critique toutes les époques
Jean Parédès	...	Paul - le pharmacien
Paolo Stoppa	...	Le directeur de l'Opéra
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Le Choeur Marguerite Mercier	...	Les choristes

Storyline

Young Claude, teacher by day, is a struggling composer by night. Alas, everyone around him seems to prefer noise to music. But in his dreams, he lives in other eras where he is appreciated, lionized, and the conquerer of delicious women (idealized forms of women he's seen in waking life). The dreams are suitably dreamlike, yet have a kind of reality, for he revisits them after waking. The conflict between waking and dream worlds leads to amusing, strange, even fantastic situations. Which world will prevail?

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Plot Keywords:

dream | composer | male female relationship | historical fiction | musician | 

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Taglines:

A Bon Bon From the Master of Comedy

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

April 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beauties of the Night

Filming Locations:

Studios de Boulogne-Billancourt/SFP - 2 Rue de Silly, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franco London Films, Rizzoli Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Finnish censorship visa # 38333 delivered on 19-5-1953.

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Alternate Versions

The dubbed Italian version incorporates shots of road signs written in Italian.

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Connections

Referenced in Road Back (1959)

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Soundtracks

Je vous reverrai chaque nuit
Written by Georges Van Parys

User Reviews

Stream of Charm and Consciousness

A splendidly madcap yet romantic depiction of the lure of the dreamworld on a down-at-heel composer. All told with a lot of vim and vigor but it still ends up dragging a little, never really engages the emotions, and as usual with Clair, the songs are poor.

The recurring joke from progressively older and older historical figures about how things used to be better when they were young is brilliantly executed, and the representations of the slipping in and out of the dream world reminded me of Eternal Sunshine as much as anything else.

A little too random and hit and miss overall but it's still an amazing idea for a story, perfectly realized on the technical level, and lovely to look at.