“Marge, my love, my angel.”
Plein soleil [Purple Noon] (René Clément, 1960)
Aug
20
1959
A contract for Marge, a sailboat, dated August 20, 1959. DP: Henri Decaë.
Les félins [Joy House / The Love Cage] (René Clément, 1964)
May
14
Barbara Hill (Lola Albright) going through Marc Borel's (Alain Delon) passport, which states Marc's date of birth as May 14. On Barbara's desk several curiosities, including a shrunken head in a glass case. DP: Henri Decaë.
– You expect me to eat that? – Americans live on ketchup and milk. I'm a whiz at geography.
Le passager de la pluie [Rider on the Rain] (René Clément, 1970)
Oct
10
Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau (Marlène Jobert) and Col. Harry Dobbs (Charles Bronson), dancing. DP: Andréas Winding.
“Why bother having money when you can spend other people's?”
Plein soleil [Purple Noon] (René Clément, 1960)
Jun
15
croissants
Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) going though his passport over breakfast. Multiple passport photos, a fountain pen, and a magnifying glass take precedence over his fresh croissants. DP: Henri Decaë.
– Philippe Greenleaf
– Can such miracles really happen?
– You and I are living proof.
La Belle et la Bête [Beauty and the Beast] (Jean Cocteau + René Clément, 1946)
Nov
28
Giving Tuesday
The most beautiful flower, a rose, in La Bête's enchanted garden. DP: Henri Alekan.
Someone is given something special for Giving Tuesday (USA)
Just before leaving home for a business trip, a father asks his three daughters what he can bring them as a return gift. The eldest two ask for silly, extravagant things. A monkey! A parrot! The youngest simply wishes the most beautiful flower which the father finds in an enchanted garden, guarded by a terrible beast. And will pay for with his life unless he gives his youngest away to the beast, to die in his place.
#Cocteau and Clément's La Belle et la Bête is of course based on Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's fairy-tale, which on its turn was based on the classic myth of Cupid and Psyche.
– Does he crawl on four legs? What does he eat and drink? – I've given him water to drink on occasion. He would never eat me.
La Belle et la Bête [Beauty and the Beast] (Jean Cocteau + René Clément, 1946)
Aug
15
a cornucopia of wonder
La Belle (Josette Day) at a fancy table stacked with good foods and nice wines. She's cleaning her fingernails with the silverware while a chagrined Bête (Jean Marais) looks on. As magical as the story are the production and set design by Christian Bérard, Lucien Carré, and René Moulaert. They breathed a soul into almost everything, including the candelabras. DP: Henri Alekan.