''Forbidden Fruit'' (french: Le Fruit défendu) is a 1952 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International Fi ...

and starring

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan to ...

Françoise Arnoul Françoise Arnoul (born Françoise Annette Marie Mathilde Gautsch; 3 June 1931 – 20 July 2021) was a French actress, who achieved popularity during the 1950s. Early life Born in Constantine, French Algeria, as the daughter of stage ac ...

and

Claude Nollier Claude Nollier (born Yvette Emilie Maria Louise Nollier), French actress, was born on 12 December 1919 in Paris, and died 12 February 2009 in Boulogne-Billancourt. Biography A theatre actress, she joined the Comédie Française in 1946 to 1951. ...

. Drawn from the novel '' Act of Passion'' (''Lettre à mon juge'') by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

, it omits the book's grim resolution and instead invents a happy ending. The story it tells is of a doctor in a provincial city with a devoted wife and children who falls for a sexy but transient young woman and then loses her before his domestic and professional life are both ruined. It was shot at the

Saint-Maurice Studios Saint-Maurice is the name or part of the name of places. It refers to the legendary Saint Maurice. Canada * Saint-Maurice (Lower Canada), an electoral district 1792–1838 * Saint-Maurice (Province of Canada), an electoral district 1841–1867 * ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Rino Mondellini Rino Mondellini (1908-1974) was an Italian art director known for his work in the French film industry.Hayward p.244 Selected filmography * ''Come Down, Someone Wants You'' (1951) * ''The Night Is My Kingdom'' (1951) * ''Shadow and Light'' (1951) ...

Plot

Left a widower with two small daughters who are looked after by his widowed mother, Dr Pellegrin is a general practitioner in the city of

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

. At a party he sees a handsome and assured widow, Armande, who decides to be his next wife. Though she capably takes over his house, his children and the administration of his practice, the relationship lacks passion. He meets a forward young woman, Martine, who has come to Arles to find work, and after an evening's drinking spends the night with her in a hotel. Under a transparent story of her being referred to him as a patient, he introduces her into his house. Armande is sympathetic to the girl and suggests that she can work as Pellegrin's assistant, the pay enabling her to live in lodgings. Amid the constraints of his job and his marriage, Pellegrin snatches moments with Martine when he can, but if she has a drink or a dance with anyone else he becomes insanely jealous. Unable to take the strain of this artificial life with no future, in a strange town where everybody knows the doctor and where his wife must by now know all, Martine decides to get out. Pellegrin rushes home to pack a bag and join her, but cannot find her at the railway station. Walking home despondent, he sees her say goodbye to a man in a bar and get on a bus. Shattered, he returns to his welcoming wife.

Cast

as Dr. Charles Pellegrin *

as Martine Englebert *

as Armande Barthelémy, the doctor's second wife *

Jacques Castelot Jacques Castelot (born Jacques Marie Paul Éloi Storms) (11 July 1914 – 25 August 1989) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1938 and 1982. His brother was the writer André Castelot and their father was the S ...

as Boquet, owner of a bar *

René Génin René Génin (25 January 1890 – 24 October 1967) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1931 and 1965. Selected filmography * ''The Brighton Twins'' (1936) * ''27 Rue de la Paix'' (1936) * ''Nights ...

as Dr. Marchandeau *

Fernand Sardou Fernand Sardou (September 18, 1910 – January 31, 1976La Gloire de Pagnol
p. 235.) was a French singer ...

as Fontvielle *

Jackie Sardou Jackie Sardou (7 April 1919 – 2 April 1998) was a French actress. Personal life She was born Jacqueline Labbé in Paris, and married Fernand Sardou, a singer. She was the mother of singer Michel Sardou; and grandmother of author Romain Sardou ...

as The boy's mother

References

External links

* * * 1952 films 1952 drama films French black-and-white films Films based on Belgian novels Films based on works by Georges Simenon Films directed by Henri Verneuil Adultery in films French drama films 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub