''A Gorgeous Girl Like Me'' (french: Une belle fille comme moi), also known as ''A Gorgeous Bird Like Me'', is a 1972 French film directed by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

, starring

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont (28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told ''The New York Times'' her work was "the motor of my e ...

. It is based on

Henry Farrell Henry Farrell (September 27, 1920 – March 29, 2006) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known as the author of the renowned gothic horror story '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'', which was made into a film starring Bette ...

's 1967 novel of the same name. Truffaut called it "a sarcastic comedy thriller."

Plot

Stanislas Previne is a young sociologist preparing a thesis on criminal women. He meets Camille Bliss in prison to interview her. Camille is accused of having murdered her lover Arthur and her father. She tells Stanislas about her life and her love affairs. Stanislas, much to the frustration of his secretary, who also has a crush on him, soon falls in love with Camille and works to find the evidence to prove her innocence. His secretary tries to convince the sociologist that Camille is a "manipulative slut" but he cannot be convinced. Through investigation, the sociologist and his secretary find a young boy, an amateur filmmaker, who has captured the evidence they need on film to secure Camille's release from prison. Once free, Camille, who always has loved music and has seduced the cabaret singer Sam Golden earlier in the film, becomes a cause célèbre and a singing star. Stanislas meets her after a performance, and she seduces him at her home; however, her husband (who is cuckolded many times during the film) discovers them and beats him up. Camille kills her husband and then plants the gun on her passed-out paramour. When Stanislas is imprisoned for murder, Camille will do nothing to help the man who once freed her. As he cleans up the prison in the film's final segment, the camera pans to show Stanislas' secretary typing a manuscript on a nearby balcony, presumably the thesis that Stanislas began, but this time preparing one that will expose Camille as the manipulative seductress that Stanislas discovered her to truly be.

Cast

as Camille Bliss *

André Dussollier André Dussollier (born 17 February 1946) is a French actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as f ...

as Stanislas Prévine *

Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of Ern ...

as Maître Murene *

Charles Denner Charles Denner (29 May 1926 – 10 September 1995) was a French actor born to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland. During his 30-year career he worked with some of France's greatest directors of the time, including Louis Malle, Claude Chabrol, ...

as Arthur *

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (born 22 May 1937) is a French actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his role as fictional private detective Nestor Burma. Selected filmography * 1962: '' The Longest Day'' as an extra (Uncredited) * 1975: '' Cousin ...

as Roger aka Sam Golden * Anne Kreis as Hélène *

Philippe Léotard Philippe Léotard (his full name was Ange Philippe Paul André Léotard-Tomasi; 28 August 1940 – 25 August 2001) was a French actor, poet and singer. Biography He was born in Nice, one of seven children - four girls, then three boys, of whi ...

as Clovis Bliss * Gilberte Géniat as Isobel Bliss * Michel Delahaye as Marchal * Danièle Girard as Florence Golden * Martine Ferrière as prison secretary * Jacob Weizbluth as Alphonse, the mute *

Jean-François Stévenin Jean-François Stévenin (; 23 April 194427 July 2021) was a French actor and filmmaker. He appeared in 150 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the film ''Cold Moon (1991 film), Cold Moon'', which was entered into the 1991 Canne ...

as the newspapers seller (uncredited) *

as a journalist (voice, uncredited)Allen, Don. ''Finally Truffaut''. New York: Beaufort Books. 1985. . . pp. 233.

References

External links

* 1972 films French comedy films 1970s French-language films Films scored by Georges Delerue Films directed by François Truffaut Films with screenplays by Jean-Loup Dabadie Films with screenplays by François Truffaut Films based on American novels 1970s French films {{1970s-France-film-stub