''Les Belles de nuit'' (US title: ''Beauties of the Night'') is a

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

French language motion picture fantasy directed and written by

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

who co-produced with

Angelo Rizzoli Angelo Rizzoli, OML (; 31 October 1889 – 24 September 1970) was an Italian publisher and film producer. Early life Rizzoli was born in Milan on 31 October 1889. Orphaned at a young age and raised in poverty, he rose to prosperity. He apprent ...

. The film stars

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. Active in both theatre and cinema, he was, until his early death, one of the main ...

Martine Carol Martine Carol (born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer; 16 May 1920 – 6 February 1967) was a French film actress. Career Born Maryse Mourer (or Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer) in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, (France), she studied acting und ...

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...

and

Magali Vendeuil Magali Vendeuil (18 September 1926 – 12 January 2009) was a French stage and film actress who also appeared in television productions. She was a member of the Comédie-Française between 1950 and 1961. She played the female lead in several ...

. It was nominated the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

for

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

(René Clair).

Plot

Impoverished piano teacher and composer Claude (

) fantasizes about seducing beautiful rich women. One night a promising dream turns into a nightmare in which he's chased by the violent husbands and brothers of his lovers. He gets up and tries to stay awake for fear of feeling haunted again. Then he meets his neighbour Suzanne (

) who resembles a woman from his dream.

Cast

as Claude *

as Edmee *

as Leila / Cashier *

as Suzanne *

Marilyn Buferd Marilyn Buferd (January 30, 1925 – March 27, 1990) was an American film and television actress as well as the winner of both the Miss California and Miss America pageants of 1946. During the latter half of the 1940s and throughout the 1950s, sh ...

as Madame Bonacieux / Postal clerk *

Raymond Bussières Raymond Bussières (3 November 1907 – 29 April 1982) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1933 and 1982. He was born in Ivry-la-Bataille and died in Paris. He is buried in Marchenoir. He was married to the ac ...

as Roger the mechanic * Raymond Cordy as Suzanne's father Gaston / Marquis *

Bernard La Jarrige Bernard La Jarrige (25 February 1912 – 29 May 1999) was a French film and television actor.Paietta p.17 His name is sometimes written as Bernard Lajarrige. Selected filmography * '' Orage'' (1938) - Un copain (uncredited) * ''La cité des lumi ...

as Léon, le gendarme / Leon the gendarme *

Albert Michel Albert Michel (1909–1981) was a French stage, film and television actor.Paietta p.40 Selected filmography * ''Je chante'' (1938) - Un laitier (uncredited) * ''Ne bougez plus'' (1941) - Clanpinet * ''Chèque au porteur'' (1941) * ''Fièvres'' ( ...

as Le facteur / Postman *

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

as The Old Gentleman *

Jean Parédès Jean Parédès (1914–1998) was a French film actor.Hayward p.145 Selected filmography * ''Three from St Cyr'' (1939) - Bréval * ''The Fatted Calf'' (1939) - Albert - le garçon de café * ''La Charrette fantôme'' (1939) - Un salutiste (uncre ...

as Paul the pharmacist *

Paolo Stoppa Paolo Stoppa Knight Grand Cross (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Rome, he began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome and began acting in films in 1932. As a stage actor, his most celebrated ...

as Opera director

References

External links

* *
''Les Belles de nuit''
at Films de France Films directed by René Clair French romantic fantasy films 1950s fantasy comedy films 1950s romantic fantasy films Films about composers Films about dreams French fantasy comedy films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub