Sois belle et tais-toi (1958)

Director:

Marc Allégret

Writers:

Marc Allégret (story)
Gabriel Arout (adaptation)

Release Date:

7 May 1958 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A beautiful 18-year-old orphan escapes from a reformatory and hooks up wth a gang of jewel smugglers...

Plot Keywords:

Jewel | Smuggling

Cast

Henri Vidal	...	Jean Morel
Mylène Demongeot	...	Virginie Dumayet
Béatrice Altariba	...	Olga Babitcheff
René Lefèvre	...	Monsieur Raphael
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Pierrot
Anne Collette	...	Prudence
Robert Dalban	...	Le commissaire Gotterat
François Darbon	...	Gino
Robert Bazil	...	Le patron de l'auberge
Gabrielle Fontan	...	La grand-mère de Jean
André Thorent	...	Le chauffeur de Charlemagne
Alain Delon	...	Loulou
Roger Hanin	...	Charlemagne
Darry Cowl	...	L'inspecteur Jerome

Also Known As:

Be Beautiful But Shut Up (USA)
Blonde for Danger (UK)
Just Another Pretty Face

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Films EGE

Alain Delon & Jean-Paul Belmondo in their first outing!

In some reviews I've seen here for their other movies, it's been mistakenly stated that "Borsalino" was the first movie together for international superstars Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. That is not true, for this is their first outing together--It was only Delon's second movie, and Jean-Paul's first, if I'm not mistaken. Anyhow, in this movie the two fortunate actors sure didn't have to pound the pavement hard to get parts in movies with popular stars--the two newcomers are given sizable roles here. Delon and Belmondo play Loulou and Pierrot respectively, two overage juvenile delinquents who make their living illegally smuggling cameras over the border to Germany. The American title for this film is "Be Beautiful, But Shut Up!"--the titular beautiful is 17-year old wayward but wholesome orphan Virginie, as played by the blond and creamy Mylene Demongeot, a sort of sweet-sultry blend of Sandra Dee and Brigitte Bardot. She escapes from a reformatory with another girl, Olga, with the help of Olga's boyfriend Loulou, in a vehicle he has "borrowed" from his boss, a fence, but unbeknownst to them it contains a machine gun in the trunk used in a jewel robbery. Along the way the cops chase after them, and Virginie volunteers to get caught alone in the car as the couple make their hasty retreat. From that point on things get sticky as Virginie is implicated in the crime, and even more so when she falls hard for handsome, virile detective Jean Morel (Henri Vidal). Further complications ensue when a big-time, ruthless criminal in charge of the whole racket named Charlemagne (Roger Hanin) enters the picture.

Although this is far from being a great film (in fact it's rather forgettable), and farther yet from the kind of movies and roles moviegoers would later associate with Delon and Belmondo in years to come, it's lighthearted, breezy, entertaining fare. The main actors appear to have good rapport with one another, and Delon and Belmondo make a good team even at this early stage of the game. But a warning--unless you're a fan of the others, this film is probably only for serious fans of Alain and Jean-Paul, for in their roles as harmless j.d's they don't really exhibit much of the intensity and charisma that would later put them on the map. But still, it sure is nice to see the two future gallic icons in their career infancy--Delon is superlatively handsome, and Belmondo is mighty cute! As for the star of the film, Henri Vidal, it's shocking to think that the athletic, healthy-looking actor would be lead about year later from a heart attack at the age of 40.