''Life Together'' (French: ''La Vie à deux'') is a 1958 French

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Clément Duhour Clément Duhour was born in Saint-Jean d’Anglet, in the Aquitaine region of south-western France on 11 December 1912. He died on 3 January 1983 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He was a French athlete, singer, actor, film director and producer. Biography ...

. It features an ensemble star cast including

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French comic actor. Born in Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, a town located in th ...

Pierre Brasseur Pierre Brasseur (; 22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor. Biography The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur was an actor as well. The family tradition of using the name ''Br ...

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Glob ...

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

Edwige Feuillère Edwige Feuillère (born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti; 29 October 1907 – 13 November 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 moth ...

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 ...

and

Sophie Desmarets Sophie Desmarets (; 1922–2012) was a French film actress.Davis p.145 Selected filmography * ''Battement de coeur'' (1940) - (uncredited) * ''Premier rendez-vous'' (1941) - Henriette Lefranc * ''The Man Who Played with Fire'' (1942) - Gabrielle ...

.Harding p.203 The screenplay was written by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

, his final work before his death the same year. It was shot at the

Billancourt Studios Billancourt Studios was a film studio in Paris which operated between 1922 and 1992. Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, it was one of the leading French studios.Szczepanik & Vonderau p.141 It was founded in the silent era by Henri Diamant-Berger. Dur ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and on location in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Hotel Negresco The Hotel Negresco is a luxury hotel and site of the restaurant ''Le Chantecler'', located on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France. It was named after Henri Negresco (1868–1920), who had the palatial hotel construct ...

. 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 ...

Raymond Gabutti Raymond Gabutti (1908–1985) was a French art director.Turk p.439 Selected filmography * '' Three Waltzes'' (1938) * '' Durand Jewellers'' (1938) * '' Storm Over Asia'' (1938) * ''Crossroads'' (1938) * '' Private Life'' (1942) * '' Mermoz'' (194 ...

Synopsis

A celebrated writer has made a fortune by writing a successful book about four loving couples. Many years later he considers leaving them money in his will and sends out researchers to find if they are still as happy at they once were.

Cast

as Pierre Carreau *

as Monique Lebeaut *

as Marguerite Caboufigue, wife of Marcel *

as Marcel Caboufigue, the husband of Marguerite *

as Françoise Sellier, ex-Carreau *

Robert Lamoureux Robert Lamoureux (4 January 1920 – 29 October 2011) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than 30 films between 1951 and 1994. He starred in the film '' The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered ...

as Thierry Raval, the lover of Monica *

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 fi ...

as Maître Stéphane, the notary *

as Teddy Brooks, the illusionist *

as Odette de Starenberg, the minister's girlfriend *

as Désiré, Odette's new

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

* Jean Richard as André Le Lorrain *

Pauline Carton Pauline Carton (; 4 July 1884 – 17 June 1974) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 190 films between 1907 and 1974. Filmography * ''La fille du Boche'' (1915) * '' Blanchette'' (1921) * ''La femme de nulle part'' (1922) * ''C ...

as Mrs Vattier, wife of directeur *

Mathilde Casadesus Mathilde Casadesus (1921–1965) was a French film actress.Goble p.95 Biography Born into a family of renowned musicians, she is the daughter of cellist and composer Marius Casadesus and cellist Lucette Laffite. She is the half-sister of Gréco ...

as Adèle, cuisine of Odette *

Marie Daëms Marie Daëms (January 27, 1928 – January 19, 2016) was a French stage, film and television actress.Hayward & Vincendeau p.127 After studying at the Lycée Jules-Ferry in Paris, Daëms made her stage debut in 1947 and her first screen appearance ...

as Madeleine *

Ivan Desny Ivan Desny (born Ivan Nikolaevich Desnitsky; , 28 December 1922 – 13 April 2002) was a French actor of Russian Chinese origin. He had a lengthy career in French and German cinema, appearing in over 200 film and television roles over 50 year ...

as Michel Sellier *

Jacques Dumesnil Jacques Dumesnil (born Marie Émile Eugène André Joly; 9 November 1903 – 8 May 1998) was a French film actor, film and television actor. Early life Jacques Dumesnil was born as Marie Émile Eugène André Joly on 9 November 1903, in Paris ...

as Professor Henri Girane *

Christian Duvaleix Christian Duvaleix (1923–1979) was a French stage and film actor. He was born in Tunis which was then part of French Tunisia, the son of Albert Duvaleix. He was a character actor appearing in a number of supporting roles. He was one of the membe ...

as Jean Pommier, généalogiste *

Jacques Jouanneau Jacques Jouanneau (3 October 1926 – 19 July 2011) was a French actor. He was born in Angers, France. Filmography *1953: '' Capitaine Pantoufle'' - Le barman du Goéland (uncredited) *1954: '' Les Intrigantes'' - Le Reporter (uncredited) *1 ...

as Sentis, généalogiste *

Madeleine Lebeau Marie Madeleine Berthe Lebeau (, 10 June 1923 – 1 May 2016) was a French film actress who also appeared in American films, most notably ''Casablanca''. Early life Lebeau married actor Marcel Dalio in 1939; it was his second marriage. They had ...

as Peggy * Robert Manuel as Georges *

Jane Marken Jane Marken (born Jeanne Berthe Adolphine Crabbe, sometimes credited as Jeanne Marken; 13 January 1895 in Paris – 1 December 1976 in Paris) was a French actress. She was the first wife of the actor Jules Berry. Marken began her film career u ...

as Madame Fourneau *

Maria Mauban Maria Mauban (10 May 1924 – 26 August 2014) was a French actress. She appeared in around fifty films and television series during her career. in 1950 she starred in the British Egyptian-set crime film '' Cairo Road''. The same year she appeared ...

as La soeur-infirmière *

Pierre Mondy Pierre Mondy (born Pierre Cuq; 10 February 1925 – 15 September 2012) was a French film and theatre actor and director. Personal life Born on 10 February 1925, he was married four times: to Claude Gensac, Pascale Roberts, Annie Fournier, and ...

as Monsieur Lebeaut * Jacques Morel as Claude *

Jean Tissier Jean Tissier (1896–1973) was a French stage, film and television actor.Goble p.440 A prolific actor, he had more than two hundred fifty appearances on screen during his career. He was married to the actress Georgette Tissier. Selected filmogr ...

as Arthur Vattier *

Palmyre Levasseur Palmyre Levasseur (24 December 1888 – 4 August 1963) was a French stage and film actress.Aping p.234 Selected filmography * '' Culprit'' (1937) * '' The Fraudster'' (1937) * ''Tricoche and Cacolet'' (1938) * ''The Postmaster's Daughter'' (1938) ...

as Marie *

Raoul Marco Raoul Marco (22 November 1892 – 3 April 1971) was a French film actor.Phillips p.215 Partial filmography * ''Bric à Brac et compagnie'' (1931) - Monsieur Verly * ''Le gendre de Monsieur Poirier'' (1933) - Le premier créancier * '' The Red Ro ...

as Doctor Leclerc

References

Bibliography

* Harding, James. ''Sacha Guitry: the Last Boulevardier''. Methuen, 1968.

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0052363
La Vie à deux (1958)
at the ''Films de France'' 1958 films French comedy films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films Films based on works by Sacha Guitry Films set in Nice Films shot in Nice Films shot at Billancourt Studios 1950s French films Films scored by Hubert Rostaing French-language comedy films