''Le Blé en herbe'' (English title: ''The Game of Love'') is a 1954 French film by

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director and later Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Biography Born at Luzarches in Val-d'Oise, Autant-Lara was educated in France and at London's Mill Hill Sc ...

based on the 1923 novel of the same name by French novelist

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

. The film stars

Edwige Feuillère Edwige Feuillère (born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti; October 29, 1907 – November 13, 1998) was a French stage and film actress. Biography She was born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti to an Italian architect father and an Alsace-born mo ...

, Pierre-Michel Beck (as Philippe),

Nicole Berger Nicole Berger (born Nicole Gouspeyre,''Le Vrai Nom des stars'' de Michel Bracquart - M.A. Editions - 1989 12 June 1934 – 13 April 1967) was a French actress. Biography Berger was born in Paris. She had a brief theatrical career, particularly ...

(as Vinca Ferret), Robert Berri and

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

. It is

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

with a

monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

soundtrack.

Plot

The plot involves the relationship between a young man and an older woman, or in one critic's summary, "an older woman ... introduces a teenager ... to the mysteries of love".

Marketing

Promotional materials for the film presented it as "the story of two adolescents' love affair and its interruption by an older woman" and called attention to the controversy the film had generated in France. Feuillère was born in 1907, Beck in 1938.

Awards

The film was awarded the 1954

Controversy

In the United States it was subject to a series of attempts to prevent its screening. It received a Class C or "condemned" rating from the Roman Catholic

National Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was a Catholic group founded in 1934 by Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictu ...

. The film was banned in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

until a court ruling in July 1955 considering the case of ''

Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' ( sv, Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of ...

'', a 1951 Swedish film, held the state's motion picture censorship law unconstitutional. Boston officials were unable to ban it but termed it "unwholesomely immoral". A similar ban in Baltimore was overturned by a Maryland court. The film's distributors sued unsuccessfully in federal court to overturn Chicago's ban. Eleven of the twelve jurors who viewed the film with U.S. District Court Judge

Joseph Sam Perry Joseph Samuel Perry (November 30, 1896 – February 18, 1984) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Early life and education Born in Carbon Hill, Alabama, Perry was the so ...

supported his assessment that the film was "immoral and obscene". After the Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, the distributors, the Times Film Corporation, appealed to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, which ruled in November 1957 that the film did not meet the standard the Court used for determining obscenity, that is, appealing to prurient interest. The justices viewed the film and upheld Chicago's obscenity statute but objected to its application to this film.

Notes

The literal translation of the French title is ''Ripening Wheat''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ble En Herbe 1954 films 1950s French-language films Films with screenplays by Jean Aurenche Films with screenplays by Pierre Bost 1954 drama films French drama films Films directed by Claude Autant-Lara Films based on French novels Films based on works by Colette Films about virginity French black-and-white films 1950s French films