The beauties of the night
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The beauties of the night |
| Original title | Les Belles de nuit |
| Country of production | France , Italy |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 87 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | René Clair |
| script | René Clair |
| production | René Clair, Angelo Rizzoli |
| music | Georges van Parys |
| camera | Armand Thirard |
| cut |
Louisette Hautecoeur , Denise Natot |
| occupation | |
| |
The beauties of the night (original title: Les Belles de nuit ) is an Italian - French comedy film by René Clair from 1952 with Gérard Philipe in the leading role.
action
In the early 1950s, the young composer Claude worked on an opera night after night. His works have not brought him anything so far, which is why he has to earn his living as a music teacher in a small French provincial town and sometimes also gives private lessons. Still, he doesn't have enough money to pay the rent on time every month. In order to escape his worries and the unbearable noise in his neighborhood, he prefers to hide in his bed and start dreaming of a better world. True to the motto “Everything was much better in the past!”, Claude wanders through past centuries in his dream world. Sometimes he is a successful opera composer at the turn of the century , another time a heroic officer in the service of Napoleon or a courageous revolter during the French Revolution . He is always surrounded by beautiful women who turn on him, whose faces he knows from real life, like that of the lovely Edmée de Villebois, whose daughter he gives private lessons, or that of the cashier of a café, who turns into the seductive in his dream Harem lady Leïla transformed. His pretty neighbor Suzanne also appears repeatedly in his castles in the air.
Over time, Claude withdraws from reality more and more, which is why he can no longer find his way in real life with a passport that has now expired and ends up in the kittchen for a short time because of insulting officials. He even wants to get some sleeping pills so that he can sleep longer. His friends are already worried about him. They believe that he wants to throw himself tired of life from a bridge or kill himself with sleeping pills, which is why they set everything in motion and pay the rent for him to prevent his apparently planned suicide.
When Claude surrendered once more to his dreams, he now encounters unexpected difficulties in his dream world, including a jealous husband who challenges him to a duel, an army of Algerian soldiers who all want his life, and the bloody turmoil of 1789 When he wakes up again, frightened by his barbaric fantasies, the present no longer seems so bleak. He begins to appreciate the everyday things around him and realizes that the real Suzanne has much more to offer him than any illusion. To avoid his imaginary pursuers, he no longer wants to sleep.
Meanwhile, there is still a letter for Claude in the post office, which he has not been allowed to receive with his invalid ID. Thanks to his friends, he finally gets the letter. It is a reply from the director of an opera house to whom Claude sent one of his compositions a few months ago. It turns out that the director liked his opera, so Claude can now look forward to a successful future with Suzanne at his side.
background
The shooting took place in the film studios of Boulogne-Billancourt . Leading actor Gérard Philipe and his screen partner Gina Lollobrigida had also appeared together in front of the camera a few months earlier for the adventure film Fanfan, der Husar (1952). Director René Clair and Philipe had already worked together successfully on The Pact with the Devil (1950). 1955 followed another collaboration between the two with The Great Maneuver .
The film premiere of The Beauties of the Night took place in September 1952 at the Venice Film Festival . On November 14, 1952, the publication in French cinemas followed. The film was released in Germany on June 22, 1953. On March 26, 1962, the ARD broadcast the comedy on German television for the first time.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described The Beauties of the Night as an “original and wise comedy”. This is "funny, witty and imaginative staged". The "leaps between dream and reality [...] ironically perfectly broken". In addition, the "message that life is beautiful [...] without bitterness and malice". For Cinema the film was "[s] ehr poetic". According to Prisma he is "full of charm and fantasy". The Protestant film observer also praised The Beauties of the Night as a “cheerful, light and yet profound film fairy tale by the French master of film art”.
Awards
At the Venice International Film Festival , Die Schönen der Nacht competed for the Golden Lion , which René Clément ultimately received for Forbidden Games . René Clair's comedy film was instead awarded the FIPRESCI prize . In 1953 René Clair won the Prix Méliès , a French critic's award, for his work .
German version
The German dubbed version was created in 1953. Conrad von Molo directed the dubbing based on the dialogue book by Ruth Schiemann-König .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Claude | Gérard Philipe | Dietrich Haugk |
| Edmée de Villebois | Martine Carol | Gisela Höter |
| Cashier of the Grand Café / Leïla | Gina Lollobrigida | Margot Leonard |
| Suzanne | Magali Vendeuil | Haide Lorenz |
Web links
- The beauties of the night in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The beauties of the night on filmsdefrance.com (English)
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ The beauties of the night. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ cf. prisma.de
- ↑ Protestant film observer . Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 407/1953.
- ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de