ksf-2
Simone Simon is "Elisabeth" in the deMaupassant story of a young french lady traveling in a coach with the upper class folks. This tale is SO watered down ... apparently the gal was original a prostitute, yet in this film, she is a "laundress" who keeps refusing to "have dinner" with the German soldiers. Even TCM's Ben Maniewicz chuckled at the changes required by the film code in effect at the time. At the beginning, the other travelers hailed the young lady for being such a patriot, and refusing to "eat" with the soldiers. Then, after she has relented under pressure, and "had dinner" with the soldier, they disdain her when they are allowed to continue on their way. Not sure whether they now saw HER in a different light, or maybe they were actually ashamed of themselves by coercing her to "have dinner" with the Germans. I did recognize Norma Varden... she was Piggy's wife in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". I also wondered about the soldier called "Madamoiselle Fifi"... was that more of an insult in the original story ? was he trying to prove his prowess with the women? why the "Madamoiselle" ? seems to be a parody of "fiefdom", one's own private territory. Also here is the story of the church bell, which is only rung when the underground has made progress. That subplot seems to be the opening and closing bookends of the story. One of Robert Wise's first jobs as director. Check out his list of films.. he sure did some biggies!
Armand
like many movies from period, it is seductive for its atmosphere. it is a kind of Maupassant in American skin. nice, clean, melodramatic, with patriotic heart but , in same measure, good example for a manner to present a drama. sure, like many films of war , its purpose is obvious - to be model for viewers. but it is its sin. Simone Simon is perfect gem for a strange construction, without real story and almost confuse. Manichean lines of script, the good and bad characters, the message like stamp on letter, a great potential and fear to expose more than demand of rules. a film. like many. interesting seed for discover Maupassant work/style. and for hope to a better adaptation.
Hans C. Frederick
There isn't too terribly much that I could add that hasn't already been said.However, to add on something for one of Profesor Lisistwitz's observations-yes the heroines in both stories were prostitutes but, given the state of the censorship codes at that time, their true profession(by the way, the world's oldest) wouldn't have been acceptable. In addition, most of the other critics have quite perceptively noticed and mentioned that the screenplay is based on two of Guy De Mauppassant' short stories, which have been quite cleverly put together.And this IS the genius of the scriptwriters.The humiliated girl in "Ball of Fat" come back to retaliate against the villain who humiliated her in the beginning.Well done!
panzerrune
"The performances are mainly so-so but Simon, the beauty she is, can't do much. Her performance here is pretty bad and at times laughable due to her voice, which sounded really bad here. I've never been a big fan of hers but this is certainly the worst thing I've seen her do. " As i have quoted here from another IMDb user, and to shed some light. Simone Simon NEVER liked this movie. She did NOT like how her character was portrayed (due to censors) and she NEVER had anything to say good about this movie. This would at least explain why her character in this film falls flat for some viewers. She was under contract with RKO and she was friends with and cared a lot for Val Lewton, which explains why she took the role. I enjoy the movie for what it is, and do not read anything deeply dramatic about it. I am a Simone Simon fan so i enjoy the movie at least on that level.Thanks.
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