Elena et les hommes (1956)

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Jean Renoir (scenario & adaptation and dialogue)
Jean Serge (adaptation)

Release Date:

31 December 1956 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

The Only Thing Gayer Than April in Paris is Bergman in Paris!

Plot:

Polish countess Elena falls in love to a Frensh radical party's candidate, a general, in pre world war I Paris, but another officer pines for her.

Plot Keywords:

Paris France | Character Name In Title

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ingrid Bergman	...	Elena Sokorowska
Jean Marais	...	Général François Rollan
Mel Ferrer	...	Le comte Henri de Chevincourt
Jean Richard	...	Hector
Juliette Gréco	...	Miarka, la gitane (as Juliette Greco)
Pierre Bertin	...	Martin-Michaud
Dora Doll	...	Rosa la Rose
Frédéric Duvallès	...	Gaudin
Renaud Mary	...	Fleury
Jacques Morel	...	Duchêne
Albert Rémy	...	Buchez
Jean Claudio	...	Lionel Villaret
Mirko Ellis	...	Marbeau
Jacques Hilling	...	Lisbonne
Jacques Jouanneau	...	Eugène Martin-Michaud

Also Known As:

Paris Does Strange Things (UK) (USA)
Elena and Her Men
Eliana e gli uomini (Italy)

Runtime:

France:95 min | Germany:96 min | USA:98 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Franco London Films

Trivia:

Audrey Hepburn did not want to be separated from her husband 'Mel Ferrer' while she was making Funny Face (1957), so filming of the Paris scenes in that film were timed to coincide with Ferrer's filming for this film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ingrid (1984)

Soundtrack:

O Nuit

Yet another lovely farce from the hand of the master.

Ingrid Bergman is a temporarily impoverished Polish countess in 1900s Paris who finds herself pursued by France's most popular general and a glamorous count -- and that's on top of being engaged to a shoe magnate. Such is the failproof premise that entrains one of the most delirious plots in movie history. There are backroom political machinations by the general's handlers, a downed balloonist and ecstatic Bastille Day throngs, but the heart of this gorgeously photographed film is the frantic upstairs/downstairs intrigues involving randy servants and only slightly more restrained aristocrats. Yes, it's Rules of the Game redux. Before it's all over even Gaston Modot, the jealous gamekeeper in Rules, puts in an appearance -- as a gypsy capo, no less! Things happen a little too thick and fast toward the end, resulting in some confusion for this non-French speaker, but what the heck -- Elena and Her Men is another deeply humane Renoir masterpiece.