''Elena and Her Men'' is a 1956 film directed by

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s. His films '' ...

and starring

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

and

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 ...

. The film's original French title was ''Elena et les Hommes'', and in English-speaking countries, the title was ''Paris Does Strange Things''. It is the third addition to the trilogy, preceded by ''

The Golden Coach ''The Golden Coach'' (french: Le Carrosse d'or; it, La carrozza d'oro) is a 1952 film directed by Jean Renoir that tells the story of a ''commedia dell'arte'' troupe in 18th-century Peru. The screenplay was written by Renoir, Jack Kirkland, Renzo ...

'' (1953) and '' French Cancan'' (1955). A restored copy has been released in the 21st century. 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. It was founded in the silent era by Henri Diamant-Berger. During the Second World War th ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Location shooting took place around the city including in Saint-Cloud and the Castle of Ermenonville. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Jean André.

Plot

Produced in 1956, and set in 1890 France, ''Elena and Her Men'' tells the story of a young, beautiful, and free-spirited Polish princess in fin de siècle Paris who specializes in granting people good luck. Elena's family has run out of money, and in order to save them, she agrees to marry a wealthy, older family friend. No sooner has she agreed to this engagement, than she meets a handsome stranger during a

14 July Events Pre-1600 * 982 – King Otto II and his Frankish army are defeated by the Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy. *1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II. *1420 & ...

celebration, who turns out to be the famous General Rollan's aide, Count de Chevincourt (

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', ''Lili'' and ''Knights of the Round ...

). Sparks fly with the Count, but when he introduces Elena to General Rollan (

), the General is quite taken with her as well. By the end of the day, Elena finds her hands full with her engagement and the romantic interests of two new men. To further complicate matters, General Rollan's political advisers see the General's romantic interest in Elena as a way to influence him to take over the French government, and they employ her to grant him the luck he needs to do so. As the movie progresses, a comical battle of juggling responsibilities develops in each character. Elena feels it is her moral duty to honor her engagement, and to help the General save France, but in her heart she loves the Count. The Count is loyal to his general and country, but is unwilling to concede Elena to the General. The General is in love with Elena but already has a mistress and is preoccupied with his growing political role in France. When the General is deliberately posted to a remote town by the French government to prevent a coup d'état, Elena follows, trying to help save France. The Count pursues her, trying to win Elena's heart. The film concludes with Elena and the Count kissing in a brothel window, impersonating Elena and the General, providing a decoy so that the General and his mistress are able to escape France disguised as gypsies. The General abandons his political obligations and Elena, and the show of affection between Elena and the fake General sparks their love for each other touching the hearts of the people watching, and causing a wave of true love to pass over the town and mend political tension.

Cast

as Princess Elena Sokorowska *

as Général François Rollan *

as Le Comte Henri de Chevincourt * Jean Richard as Hector * Juliette Gréco as Miarka, a gypsy singer * Pierre Bertin as Martin-Michaud * Dora Doll as Rosa la Rose, madame of the brothel * Frédéric Duvallès as Gaudin * Renaud Mary as Fleury * Jacques Morel as Duchene *

Albert Rémy Albert Rémy (9 April 1921 – 26 January 1967) was a French actor best known for his supporting roles in François Truffaut's first two feature films. He played Antoine Doinel's father in ''The 400 Blows'' and Charlie Koller's (Charles Aznavou ...

as Buchez *

Jean Claudio Jean Claudio (28 March 1927 – 11 January 1992) was a French actor. Biography He began his acting career in the cinema at the age of ten, playing the role of the Tsarevich, son of Tsar Nicolas II in The Imperial Tragedy. In 1938, at t ...

as Lionel Villaret *

Mirko Ellis Mirko Ellis (4 September 1923 – 11 September 2014) was a Swiss-Italian film, stage and television actor. Born Mirko Korcinsky in Locarno to a family of Lithuanian origin, Ellis moved, after his studies, to Italy, where he made his film debut in ...

as Marbeau *

Jacques Hilling Jacques Hilling (26 May 1922 – 16 February 1975) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1949 and 1975. Selected filmography * ''Return to Life'' (1949) - Un soldat (segment 4 : "Le retour de René") (uncredite ...

as Lisbonne * Jacques Jouanneau as Eugène Martin-Michaud *

Elina Labourdette Elina Labourdette (1919–2014) was a French film actress. Filmography References Bibliography * Keith Reader. ''Robert Bresson''. Manchester University Press, 2000. External links * 1919 births 2014 deaths French film actresses Ac ...

as Paulette Escoffier * Olga Valéry as Olga * Jean Castanier as Isnard * Magali Noël as Lolotte, Elena’s maid * Grègory Chmara as Elena's maid * Jim Gérald as the waiter serving coffee * Gaston Modot as Bohemiens chief * Francine Bergé as a maid * Paul Préboist as The groom

Background

This was Bergman's first film after leaving her husband, director

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

. The character of General Rollan was based on the historic

General Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

. In 1886, Boulanger had much popular support personally despite the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and some supporters urged him to conduct a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

''. (He did not.)

Reception

Ingrid Bergman's performance was highly praised.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

wrote that she played a Polish princess who could affect the future of France, but he said, that's just what the plot is about.

"The movie is about something else - about Bergman's rare eroticism, and the way her face seems to have an inner light on film. Was there ever a more sensuous actress in the movies?
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 th ...
, reviewing this film, observed that 'sex is the only focus of attention'."

He says that "Renoir preserves a strong erotic and romantic thread (the love between Bergman and Ferrer) all the way through the movie's farcical elements." Christopher Faulkner described the film as a farce dealing with many issues and incidents similar to Renoir's well-known '' Rules of the Game''. But he wrote that it is somewhat "cynical," despite its lightness. He says that "the point is made that a woman can only find (provisional) power within representation, on a stage, playing a part. At the end of the film, as coup d’état dissolves into coup de théâtre, the suggestion is that all effective power is actually a function of performance."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elena And Her Men 1956 films 1950s romantic comedy-drama films 1950s French-language films French romantic comedy-drama films Films directed by Jean Renoir Films set in the 1880s 1956 comedy films 1956 drama films 1950s historical films Fictional couples French historical comedy-drama films Italian historical comedy-drama films Italian romantic comedy-drama films Films shot at Billancourt Studios Films shot in Paris Films set in Paris Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1950s Italian films 1950s French films