''Wasteland'' (french: Terrain vague) is a 1960 French Drama film directed by Marcel Carné and starring Danielle Gaubert and Maurice Caffarelli. The story is loosely based on the novel ''Tomboy'' by

Hal Ellson Harold "Hal" Ellson (1910 – October 31, 1994 in Brooklyn)
in ''

Plot

Around a newly built

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.suburbs. They share their secrets, the products of their thefts, submit to strict rituals. The sanctity of their revolt is highlighted by the initiation by jumping blindfolded and blood

rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

. Dan, a beautiful young

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

, rules the clan. But the gang threatens increasingly sliding into serious crime, which is condemned by Dan and Lucky, a big brawler boy but who begins to consider an orderly life. Now they are ostracized along with the young Babar, accused of being a stool pigeon. Lucky, on the run, and Dan discover a mutual romantic inclination, while Babar, cruelly mistreated and humiliated, commits suicide.

Cast

* Danielle Gaubert as Dan * Roland Lesaffre as Big Chief * Maurice Caffarelli as Lucky * Constantin Andrieu as Marcel * Jean-Louis Bras as Babar * Dominique Dieudonné as Le râleur *

Denise Vernac Denise Vernac (3 June 1916 – 31 October 1984) was a French film actress. She appeared in 17 films between 1939 and 1966. Database (undated)."Filmography by Type for Denise Vernac" '' The Internet Movie Database''. Accessed 20 August 2010. Add ...

as Marcel's mother *

François Nocher François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

* Alfonso Mathis as Hans *Pierre Richard *

Georges Wilson Georges Wilson (16 October 1921 – 3 February 2010) was a French film and television actor. He was the father of French actor Lambert Wilson. Biography Wilson was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Seine (now Val-de-Marne) as the illegitimat ...

as His Honour J. Royer the juvenile judge *

Dominique Davray Dominique Davray (born Marie-Louise Gournay; 27 January 1919 in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,4 ...

as Dan's mother * Simone Berthier as Babar's mother *

Pierre Collet Pierre Collet (10 March 1914 – 30 October 1977) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1943 and 1977. Selected filmography * ''Goodbye Leonard'' (1943) - Le marchand d'habits (uncredite ...

as Lucky's father *

Claudine Auger Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019) was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' (1965). She earned the title of Miss F ...

as Prisunic' saleswoman shouting stop thief * Dominique Lépinay *

Pierre Parel Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

* Anne Béranger * Gib Grossac as The show announcer at the fair *

Georgette Peyron Georgette is a feminine given name, the French form of (''Geōrgia''), the feminine form of George. Georgette may refer to: People * Georgette Barry (1919–2003), stage name Andrea King, American actress * Georgette Bauerdorf (1924–1944), Am ...

* Jacques Berger * Jacques Galland as Prisunic's manager *

Jacques Mancier Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

as Babar's father *

Charles Bayard Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

as An onlooker at Prisunic * Louisette Rousseau as A woman at Prisunic

External links

* Films directed by Marcel Carné 1960 films French black-and-white films 1960s French-language films French drama films 1960s teen drama films Films set in Paris 1960 drama films 1960s French films {{1960s-France-film-stub