Mississippi Mermaid (1969)

A wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past.

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Cornell Woolrich (based on the novel by) (as William Irish), François Truffaut (adaptation)

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Nelly Borgeaud

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Louis Mahé
Catherine Deneuve	...	Julie Roussel / Marion Vergano
Nelly Borgeaud	...	Berthe
Martine Ferrière	...	Landlady
Marcel Berbert	...	Jardine
Yves Drouhet	...	Detective
Michel Bouquet	...	Comolli
Roland Thénot	...	Richard

Storyline

Louis Mahe is a tobacco planter at Reunion Island. He is waiting for Julie Roussel to marry him. He only knows her by mail. The woman that comes does not like the picture he got, but he marries her anyway. Soon, she flees with Louis' money. She was not the real Julie Roussel but Marion. Louis tries to find her... Another Truffaut's film about passion.

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Plot Keywords:

self destructiveness | literature on screen | american literature on screen | 20th century literature on screen | crime literature on screen | 

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Taglines:

The Bride Came as Advertised...With an Unadvertised Special

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some nudity/sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was dedicated to Jean Renoir.

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Goofs

When the disc Marion has recorded is run over in the street and shattered, she kneels to retrieve the pieces; at first her right knee is uppermost, but then suddenly her left knee is higher, as she stands.

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Quotes

Julie Roussel: [Having doubts, after Louis has hidden money in their apartment] Do you think the maid looks honest?
Louis Mahé: You see evil everywhere.
Julie Roussel: I don't see evil everywhere. It *is* everywhere.

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Alternate Versions

SPOILERS: In some versions of this film, the image of the comic strip in the newspaper that makes Belmondo's character realize his wife has been poisoning him has been removed. The probable reason is that the whole idea is a bit naive and absurd, although without this image it is impossible to explain how the man finds out that he has been poisoned. (As the comic strip in question involves Disney-related art of Snow White being offered the poisoned apple by the Witch, the removal of the cartoon in some versions is more likely due to issues involving Disney's copyright.)

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Connections

Featured in Butchery & Ballyhoo (2016)

User Reviews

Passion, Murder and Love That Hurts

In Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, the owner of a cigarette factory Louis Mahé (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is engaged through correspondence with Julie Roussel and he does not know her. When Julie arrives in the island to get married with Louis, he waits for her in the docks but Louis does not recognize Julie in the passenger vessel and finds that she is totally different from the picture she had sent to Louis. They get married and Louis shares his bank accounts with her. When Julie's sister writes a letter to Louis asking her sister to write to her, Louis discovers that the woman is not Julie that is missing. Further, he finds that the woman has cleared his bank accounts and left the island. Louis and Julie's sister hire an efficient private detective Comolli (Michel Bouquet) and Louis travels to France seeking the woman, but he has a nervous breakdown in Nice and is submitted to an intense sleeping therapy in a clinic. He recovers and finds that the woman, actually Marion Vergano (Catherine Deneuve), works in the Phoenix Club Privé in Antibes and lives in the low-budget Monorail Hotel. Louis breaks in her room and when she arrives from the club, she tells that she was happy with him but her former dangerous lover Richard had blackmailed her. Louis is still in love with Marion and escapes with her to the countryside. But Comolli is chasing Marion in France accused of murdering Julie.

"La Sirène du Mississipi" is a film-noir by the great director/writer François Truffaut, with an unconventional love story of passion, murder and love that hurts. The femme fatale Catherine Deneuve is astonishing, probably in the top of her beauty and is delightful to see her face and the topless scenes on the road and in the room. Jean-Paul Belmondo is very athletic, and the sequence when he escalates the wall of the hotel is impressive. Catherine Deneuve makes this film worth and gives credibility to the passion and lust of Louis. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Sereia do Mississipi" ("The Mississippi Mermaid")

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 June 1969 (France)

Also Known As:

Mississippi Mermaid

Filming Locations:

Sainte-Anne church, Sainte Anne, La Réunion, France

Box Office

Budget:

$1,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,206, 25 April 1999

Gross USA:

$33,725

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,725

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Carrosse, Les Productions Artistes Associés, Produzioni Associate Delphos

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1