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

Willy Rozier Willy Rozier (27 June 1901 – 29 May 1983) was a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter who also used the pseudonym Xavier Vallier. Filmography Director * ''Les Monts en flammes'' (1931) * '' Calais-Dover'' (1931) * ''Le ...

and starring

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

, Jean-François Calvé and

Howard Vernon Howard Vernon (15 July 1908 – 25 July 1996) was a Swiss actor. In 1961, he became a favorite actor of Spanish film director Jesús Franco and began starring in many low-budget horror and erotic films produced in Spain and France. After po ...

. 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 1953 as ''Manina, la fille sans voiles'', the film was not released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

and

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 ...

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 Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of ...

and 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 Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

where he convinces a cigarette smuggler, Eric (Vernon), to take him to the island. There they find 18-year-old Manina (Bardot), the light-keeper's daughter, who is beautiful and pure. 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 runs away with it and is wrecked in a storm.

Cast

*Jean-François Calvé ... Gérard Morère *

... Manina *

... Éric *

Henry Djanik Henry Djanik (1926–2008) was a French actor. Filmography *''Manina, the Girl in the Bikini'' (1952) * ''This Man Is Dangerous ''This Man Is Dangerous'' (U.S. title: ''The Patient Vanishes'') is a 1941 British thriller film, directed by ...

... 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 Nadine de Rothschild (née Nadine Nelly Jeannette Lhopitalier; born 18 April 1932) is a French author and former actress. She is the widow of banker Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family. Biography Nadine Lhopitalier ...

... Mathilda (as N. Tallier) *Maurice Bénard ... (as Bénard)

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 93089, Manina, the Girl in the Bikini
Review of film
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

1952 films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films 1952 adventure films Treasure hunt films 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 Seafaring films 1952 romantic drama films French romantic drama films French adventure films Films directed by Willy Rozier 1950s French films