''Knave of Hearts'' is a 1954 British-French

comedy drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

directed by

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films ''The Battle of the Rails'' (1946), ''Forbidden Games'' (1952), ''Gervaise (film), Gervaise'' (1956), ''Purple No ...

and starring

Gérard Philipe Gérard Philipe () (born Gérard Albert Philip, 4 December 1922 – 25 November 1959) was a prominent French actor who appeared in 32 films between 1944 and 1959. He came to prominence during the later period of the poetic realism movement o ...

Valerie Hobson Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...

and

Joan Greenwood Joan Mary Waller Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 28 February 1987) was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'', and also app ...

. The film was shot at the

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

Associated British Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

and on location across London including

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

and Hyde Park. The film's sets were designed by the

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

Ralph Brinton Ralph W. Brinton (1895–1975) was a British art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Tom Jones''. Selected filmography * '' Blue Smoke'' (1935) * ''Late Extra'' (1935) * ''Sleepi ...

. In France it was released as ''Monsieur Ripois'', referencing the title of the original novel by

Louis Hémon Louis Hémon (12 October 1880 – 8 July 1913), was a French writer, best known for his novel '' Maria Chapdelaine''. Biography Louis Hémon was born in Brest, France. In Paris, where he resided with his family, he was enrolled in the Mont ...

. The film was entered into the

1954 Cannes Film Festival The 7th Cannes Film Festival took place from 25 March to 9 April 1954. French writer and filmmaker Jean Cocteau served as jury president for the main competition. This was the last festival with a predominantly French jury. The Grand Prix was aw ...

, where it won the Special Jury Prize.

Synopsis

The film portrays the adventures of a French philanderer in Paris and London.

Cast

as Andre Ripois *

Natasha Parry Natasha Parry (2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress of Russian descent. The daughter of film director Gordon Parry, she was married to theatre director Peter Brook from 1951 until her death, and is the mother of filmmakers ...

as Patricia *

as Catherine Ripois *

as Norah * Margaret Johnston as Anne *

Germaine Montero Germaine Montero (1909–2000) was a French singer and a stage, television and film actress.Conway p.87 Partial filmography * '' Sapho'' (1934) - Madame Sombreuse * '' The Sin of Rogelia Sanchez'' (1940) - Rogelia Sanchez * '' Saint Rogelia'' ( ...

as Marcelle *

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later re ...

as Catherine's Father *

Diana Decker Isabella Charlotte Diana Decker (9 January 1925 – 4 January 2019) was an American-born British actress, singer, and television personality, who was popular from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Early life Decker was born to an American father and ...

as Diana *

Bill Shine William Shine (born July 4, 1963) is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications in the First presidency of Donald Trump, first administration of President of the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump. He spent most of his ...

as Pub Barman *

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the primary antagonist of t ...

as Boarding House Proprietor * Martin Benson as Art * Mae Bacon as Mrs. Rose * Margo Field as Doris Braddock * Julie Anslow as Maisie Smith *

Harry Towb Harry Towb (27 July 1925 – 24 July 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland. Early life and career Towb was born in Larne, County Antrim, to a Russian-Jewish father and an Irish-Jewish mother; he once claimed he was the only Jew ever born i ...

as Stewart *

Gerald Campion Gerald Theron Campion (23 April 1921 – 9 July 2002) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his role as Billy Bunter in a 1950s television adaptation ('' Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School'') of books by Frank Richards (Charles Hami ...

as Harry * Judith Nelmes as Marcelle *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

as Priest *

Eileen Way Eileen Mabel Elizabeth Way (2 September 1911 – 16 June 1994) was a British actress who appeared in film and television roles in a career dating back to the 1930s. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from the age of 16. She was ...

as Landlady *

Beryl Cooke Beryl Cooke (1 November 1906 – 21 August 2001) was an English actress. Her career spanned six decades; she is most familiar to British audiences as Aunt Lucy in the sitcom '' Happy Ever After'' and Mrs. Vance in the BBC drama '' Tenko''. ...

as Kind Typist

References

Bibliography

* Burton, Alan & Chibnall, Steve. ''Historical Dictionary of British Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2013.

External links

* 1954 films 1954 comedy-drama films French comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films Films directed by René Clément English-language French films British black-and-white films French black-and-white films Films set in London Films shot in London Films shot at Associated British Studios 1950s English-language films 1950s British films 1950s French films Films scored by Roman Vlad English-language comedy-drama films Cannes Jury Prize winners {{1950s-comedy-drama-film-stub