''Desperate Decision'' (French: ''La jeune folle'') is a 1952 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Yves Allégret Yves Allégret (13 October 1905 – 31 January 1987) was a French film director, often working in the film noir genre. He was born in Asnières-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine and died in Paris. He was an assistant to film directors such as his brothe ...

and starring

Danièle Delorme Gabrielle Danièle Marguerite Andrée Girard (9 October 1926 – 17 October 2015), known by her stage name Danièle Delorme (), was a French actress and film producer, famous for her roles in films directed by Marc Allégret, Julien Duvivier an ...

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 ...

and Jean Debucourt.Rège p.186 It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont Film Company, Gaumont making films there. A second studio was a ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Alexandre Trauner Alexandre Trauner (born Sándor Trau; 3 August 1906 in Budapest, Hungary – 5 December 1993 in Omonville-la-Petite, France) was a Hungarian film production designer. After studying painting at Hungarian Royal Drawing School, he left the c ...

Synopsis

In 1922 during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, a young woman Catherine heads to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

seeking vengeance on the man who killed her brother. She meets a man Steve who wishes to protect her as she is teetering on the edge of madness. However, when she discovers that he is the murderer she takes her revenge.

Cast

as Catherine *

as Steve * Jean Debucourt as Le messager / A Mysterious Man *

Jacqueline Porel Jacqueline Porel (1918–2012) was a French stage and film actress.Edwards p.107 She was also a voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often ...

as Mother Superior *

Georges Chamarat Georges Chamarat (30 March 1901 – 21 November 1982) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1929 and 1981. He starred in the film '' The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered into the ...

as Le chef de gare *

Olivier Hussenot Olivier Hussenot (10 September 1913 – 25 August 1978) was a French theatre and film actor. Career The actor appeared in French, Italian and American films. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussenot, Oliv ...

as Le colleur d'affiches *

Jacques Dynam Jacques Dynam (30 December 1923 – 11 November 2004) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1942 and 2004, among which the ''Fantomas'' saga. Selected filmography * ''La symphonie fantastique'' (1942) - (uncre ...

as Le consommateur * Michel Etcheverry as Le prêtre * Gabrielle Fontan as Soeur Patricia * Joëlle Bernard as La femme ivre *

Maurice Ronet Maurice Ronet (; 13 April 1927 – 14 March 1983) was a French film actor, director, and writer. Early life Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes. He was the only child of professional stage actors Émile ...

as Jim *

Nicolas Vogel Nicolas Vogel (born in Paris, France, May 27, 1925 - died in Paris September 17, 2006) was an actor and comedian who was featured in numerous films and television shows in the 1960s and 1970s, including '' The Man from Chicago'' (1963), '' Le Gitan ...

as Tom * Marcel Journet as Le chef de police Donovan * Madeleine Gérôme as Madame Donovan * Gabriel Gobin as L'employé de la gare * Madeleine Barbulée as La voyageuse * Lolita De Silva as Soeur Ruth

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: 1951–1955''. Pygmalion, 1989. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1952 films French drama films 1952 drama films 1950s French-language films Films directed by Yves Allégret French black-and-white films 1950s French films Films shot at Joinville Studios Films set in Dublin (city) Films set in 1922 {{1950s-France-film-stub