''Nathalie'' is a 1957 French-Italian

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Martine Carol, Mischa Auer and

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

.Goble p.306 It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

of Franstudio and the Photosonor Studios, both in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

also took place around the city including the

Printemps Printemps (; meaning " springtime" in French) is a French department store chain (french: grand magasin, links=no, literally "big store"). The Printemps stores focus on beauty, lifestyle, fashion, accessories, and men's wear. The Printemps ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

and Paris Airport. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Robert Gys Robert Gys (1901–1977) was a French art director.O'Shaughnessy p.238 Selected filmography * '' Imperial Violets'' (1924) * ''The Phantom of the Moulin Rouge'' (1925) * ''Miss Europe'' (1930) * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' The Dream'' (1931) * '' ...

. It was followed by a sequel '' Nathalie, Secret Agent'' in 1959, also starring Carol.

Synopsis

Nathalie, a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

at a Parisian

fashion house Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer create ...

is wrongly accused of a stealing a valuable clip from a customer, the

countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

de Lancy. When it is discovered soon afterwards she takes it to the

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as we ...

residence of the countess, but finds her dead. She is then kidnapped by some

gangsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

but manages to escape, and makes contact with a police officer she is friendly with. Together they embark on an investigation. She discovers that the countess was the leader of a gang of thieves, who has been murdered by an underworld rival.

Cast

* Martine Carol as Nathalie Princesse * Mischa Auer as Cyril Boran *

as L'inspecteur Franck Marchal *

Louis Seigner Louis Seigner (23 June 1903 – 20 January 1991) was a French actor. He was born in Saint-Chef, Isère, France, the son of Louise (Monin) and Joseph Seigner, and died in Paris. He was the father of actress Françoise Seigner, with Marie Cazeaux, ...

a s Le commissaire Pipart *

Lise Delamare Lise Delamare (born Jolyse Effrey Jeanne Delamare; 9 April 1913 – 25 July 2006) was a French stage and film actress. Partial filmography * '' George and Georgette'' (1934) * ''Les précieuses ridicules'' (1934) * ''Pension Mimosas'' (1935) - ...

as La comtesse de Lancy * Jacques Dufilho as Simon, le domestique de comtesse / Simon the Valet * Pierre Goutas as Un ami de Coco *

Grégoire Gromoff Grégoire is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname / Family name *Alexandre Grégoire (1922–2001), Haitian painter * Augustus Gregoire (1936–1972), Dominican cricketer *Christine Gregoire (born 1947), ...

as Le chauffeur de taxi *

Jacques Mancier Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

as Un inspecteur * Jacques Mauclair as Émile Truffaut * Armande Navarre as Pivoine * Hubert Noël as Serge Lambert * Frédéric O'Brady as Patins à ressort', lhomme au pied-bot / The Traveler *

Fernand Rauzéna Fernand is a masculine given name of French origin. The feminine form is Fernande. Fernand may refer to: People Given name * Fernand Augereau (1882–1958), French cyclist * Fernand Auwera (1929–2015), Belgian writer * Fernand Baldet (18 ...

as Géo, un ami de Coco *

Jess Hahn Jesse Beryle Hahn (October 29, 1921June 29, 1998) was an American-French character actor who mostly starred in French films. Biography After serving with the Marines in the Second World War, he moved to France in 1949 and took French citizen ...

as Sam * Aimé Clariond as Le comte Auguste Claude Superbe de Lancy *

Philippe Clay Philippe Clay (7 March 1927 – 13 December 2007), born Philippe Mathevet, was a French mime artist, singer and actor. He was known for his tall and slim silhouette (he was 1.90 m tall) and for his interpretations of songs by Charles Aznavour, C ...

as Adolphe Faisant, dit "Coco la Girafe"

References

Bibliography

* Chiti, Roberto & Poppi, Roberto. ''Dizionario del cinema italiano: Dal 1945 al 1959''. Gremese Editore, 1991. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey. ''The Oxford History of World Cinema''. Oxford University Press, 1996.

External links

* 1957 films French comedy films Italian comedy films 1957 comedy films 1950s French-language films Films directed by Christian-Jaque Gaumont Film Company films Films based on French novels Films shot at Joinville Studios Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris 1950s French films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-France-film-stub