''Une ravissante idiote'' ( ''The Ravishing Idiot'') is a 1964 French-Italian

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Édouard Molinaro.

François Billetdoux François Billetdoux (7 September 1927 – 26 November 1991) was a French dramatic author and novelist. Biography His works describe the world with a fierce humor of a somewhat burlesque style, which sometimes turns into black humor. Billetdoux w ...

and André Tabet wrote a screenplay based on

Charles Exbrayat Charles Exbrayat (5 May 1906 – 8 March 1989) was a French fiction writer. He published over 100 novels and short stories, most of them humorous thrillers. They were very popular and a considerable number were turned into films. While living i ...

1962 novel of the same name.

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 ...

and

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

star as the protagonists in the Franco-Italian production. The film was also released as ''Agent 38-24-36'' in the United States.

Plot

A Soviet spy (Perkins) is on an official mission to obtain sensitive information from NATO about military mobilization. The klutzy intelligence operative has to rely on the instinct of his new partner and love-interest Penelope Lightfeather (Bardot) as they traipse across the countryside, avoiding counter intelligence agents and distrustful communist operatives.

Cast

as Penelope Lightfeather *

as Harry Compton / Nicholas Maukouline *

Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian; 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life Krikor Kaloust Aslanian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գալուստի Ասլանյան) was born in Switzerland or in Con ...

as Bagda *

Jean-Marc Tennberg Jean-Marc Tennberg (1924–1971) was a French film, stage and television actor. He played a number of supporting roles in post-war French cinema. He was also a poet known for his television recitals.Andrew p.98 Selected filmography * ''Cyrano de ...

as Cartwright *Hans Verner as Farington *Jacques Monod as Surgeon

Production

The film was shot in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the French countryside. Production was affected for three days after Perkins suffered a sprained ankle while filming chase scenes through the woods with Bardot.TIME. Volume 82, part 2. 1964. p. 164. As he was fluent in French, this is one of several French-language roles that Perkins took on.

Bibliography

References

External links

* 1964 films 1960s French-language films Films based on French novels French spy comedy films Films directed by Édouard Molinaro Cold War spy films Films scored by Michel Legrand 1960s spy comedy films 1964 comedy films 1960s French films {{1960s-comedy-film-stub