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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Connections

Referenced in Les échos du cinéma: Episode #1.35 (1961)

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Soundtracks

Je vous reverrai chaque nuit
Written by Georges Van Parys

User Reviews

But for the great Philippe!...

Gérard Philippe is, as ever, great to watch and one is constantly reminded of what a great loss it was that he should have died of a heart attack in 1959 at the comparatively young age of 37.

Otherwise, it is a rather pointless and wishful movie that ultimately saps the musician/artist portrayed by Philippe of any sympathy the public might still have for him. The script appears to go all over the place and one is never sure whether the screenwriter actually sat down and thought it through or just typed it all in one sitting. As for the director, René Clair cannot have been too personally involved if he allowed such a shoddy job to be the result.

I love French culture, and French films and music in particular, but I am afraid this is a most disappointing specimen that -- for its sins -- even manages to suffer from pretentiousness.

I must make it clear that my views on this film have nothing to do with the reviews of Leonard Maltin or anyone else. The movie is so poor that even some great visual moments and Philippe's bravura performance cannot rescue it (though they earn it my very kind 6).