''Be Beautiful But Shut Up'' () is a French black-and-white crime comedy film made in 1958, directed by

Marc Allégret Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director. Biography Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...

. The film features

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...

and Jean Paul Belmondo in early roles as members of a gang. It was also known as ''Blonde for Danger''.

Plot

The protagonist, played by

Mylène Demongeot Mylène Demongeot (; born Marie-Hélène Demongeot ; 29 September 1935 – 1 December 2022) was a French film, television and theatre actress and author with a career spanning seven decades and more than 100 credits in French language, French, ...

, is a teenage female orphan who after escaping from her detention center joins a gang of Parisian burglars, but then by coincidence meets a young police inspector (played by

Henri Vidal Henri Vidal (26 November 1919 – 10 December 1959) was a French film actor. Film career Henri Lucien Raymond VidalSource Les Gens du cinéma/ref> was first noticed after he won the "Apollo of 1939" contest in Paris. He was spotted by Édith ...

) with whom she falls in love, marries and starts a decent life. The story shows how her former acquaintances from the criminal milieu become suspects in a jewel robbery.

Cast

as Virginie Dumayet *

as Insp. Jean Morel * Darry Cowl as Insp. Jérôme *

Béatrice Altariba Béatrice Altariba (born 18 June 1939) is a French actress who was active between 1956 and 1969. Biography Born in Marseille, she is the niece of Symbolism (movement), symbolist poet Paul Fort.''Le Film Complet'', n° 591, 15 November 1956.''Ell ...

as Olga Babitcheff * Roger Hanin as Charlemagne *

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...

as Pierrot *

as Loulou * Robert Dalban as Insp. Gotterat * François Darbon as Gino * Gabrielle Fontan as Grand-mère de Jean * René Lefèvre as Raphaël

Production

Filming took place from December 1957 to February 1958.

Reception

The film recorded admissions of 1,904,380 in France. This made it the 44th most popular film of the year.

References

External links

*
Be Beautiful But Shut Up
at BFI

at Le Film Guide French crime comedy films Films directed by Marc Allégret 1958 films 1950s French films Films scored by Jean Wiener {{1950s-France-film-stub