By the Lake of Lugano, in 1917, Lady Alice Copland, the widow of an English lord, meets Thomas in a casino. The handsome young man has just gambled all his money away. Moved both by his lot and by his good looks, Alice prevents him from committing suicide; comforts him and becomes his mistress. After learning that her lover has deserted the Austrian Army, she gives him the money he needs to return to Zurich and accompanies him to the station. Shortly afterwards she surprises him at the casino, gambling the money she gave him. Written by Guy Bellinger
Remake of Victor Saville's film based on a Stefan Zweig's short story starring Merle Oberon.
First (and best ) collaboration of director Dominique Delouche (first feature film ) with Danielle Darrieux .
WW1: Alice meets a young German deserter who has fled to Switzerland in a casino where he has just gambled his money away;she becomes his lover and gives him money ;but a gambler will always be a gambler.
It's a delicate wistful movie in which Danielle Darrieux,50 at the time , was not afraid of playing the part of an aging woman (Robert Hoffmann,her co-star was about 30).She would resume the collaboration with Delouche in "Divine" ,a less successful attempt.
The Swiss landscapes are nicely filmed,particularly on the glittering lake.
Delouche was certainly influenced by Jacques Demy and "La Baie Des Anges" ;it was even more obvious in "Divine" .