''Manina, the Girl in the Bikini'' (French: ''Manina, la fille sans voiles'') released in the UK as ''Manina, the Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter''), is a 1952 French film directed by Willy Rozier and starring

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

, Jean-François Calvé and Howard Vernon. The film is one of Bardot's first film roles, at the age of 17 and was controversial for the scanty bikinis worn by the young Bardot in the film, one of the first occasions when a bikini had appeared in film and when the bikini was still widely considered immodest. Though released in France in 1952 as ''Manina, la fille sans voiles'', the film was not released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

until 1958 as ''Manina, the Girl in the Bikini'' and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

until 1959 as ''The Lighthouse-Keeper's Daughter''. In other countries it was released under other names. The film was able to be screened in the United States notwithstanding the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

prohibition of exposure of the midriff as a foreign film. The film was shot in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

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 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 ...

in the summer of 1952. Brigitte Bardot's father had signed a contract, on behalf of his minor daughter, specifying that the film was not to show indecent images. When in the course of filming, a series of "highly suggestive" photographs of his daughter was released, he accused the producing company of not respecting the contract and demanded that the film not be projected without the permission of a court. He lost the suit.Raymond Boyer, Ghislain Dussart, Isabelle Salmon, ''Brigitte Bardot'', preface by Brigitte Bardot, Paris, ed. Vade Retro, 1994. .

Plot

A 25-year-old Parisian student, Gérard Morere (Calvé), hears a lecture about a treasure Troilus lost at sea after the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

. Gérard thinks he knows where it is, thanks to a discovery he made five years earlier when diving near the island of Levezzi, in Corsica. He gets friends and an innkeeper to invest in his dream, enough to get him to Tangiers where he convinces a cigarette smuggler, Eric (Vernon), to take him to the island on Eric's boat. There they find 18-year-old Manina (Bardot), the light-keeper's daughter, who is beautiful and pure. Manina and Gérard fall in love. Eric thinks Gérard may have conned him, but Gérard's belief in the treasure compels patience. Gérard dives by day and romances Manina at night. Gérard finds the treasure, though Eric betrays him and absconds with it. However, Eric's boat is shipwrecked in a storm and sinks. The film ends with Manina and Gérard embracing.

Cast

*Jean-François Calvé ... Gérard Morère *

... Manina * Howard Vernon ... Éric * Henry Djanik ... Marcel (as H. Djanik) *Espanita Cortez ... La Franchucha *

Raymond Cordy Raymond Cordy (9 December 1898 – 23 April 1956) was a French film actor,Youngkin p.466 born Raymond Cordiaux. He appeared in over a hundred and thirty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Little Lise'' (1930) - Un joueur de bill ...

... Francis, the bartender *Paulette Andrieux ... (as Paulette Andrieu) *Jean Droze ... Buddy of Gérard (as Droze) * Nadine Tallier ... Mathilda (as N. Tallier) *Maurice Bénard ... (as Bénard)

References

External links

*
Review of film
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

{{Willy Rozier 1952 films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films 1952 adventure films Films about treasure hunting Films featuring underwater diving Films set in Corsica Films set in Tangier Films set in Paris Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Films shot in Corse-du-Sud French seafaring films 1952 romantic drama films French romantic drama films French adventure films Films directed by Willy Rozier 1950s French films Films scored by Jean Yatove French-language adventure films