''Frou-Frou'', is a French

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film from 1955, directed by

Augusto Genina Augusto Genina (28 January 1892 – 18 September 1957) was an Italian film pioneer. He was a movie producer and director. Biography Born in Rome, Genina was a drama critic and wrote comedies for the ''Il Mondo'' Magazine, under advise of Aldo ...

, written by A. E. Carr, starring

Dany Robin Dany Robin (; 14 April, 1927 – 25 May, 1995) was a French actress of the 1950s and the 1960s. Nicknamed ‘''la petite fiancée de la France''’ (''France's little fiancée'') in the post-war years, she became one of the leading female stars ...

and

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fi ...

. The film is also known as "A Girl from Paris".

Plot

Frou-Frou is a 16-year-old peddler. She comes to the attention of four gentlemen who, Pygmalion-like, agree on helping her to improve her situation. They teach her to behave like a lady and introduce her to the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

. But she falls in love with an unsuccessful artist who commits suicide after he has befathered her with a daughter...

Cast

as Antoinette Dubois called "Frou-Frou" *

as Colonel Cousinet-Duval, one of Frou-Frou's mentors *

Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952–1965), and police detective Jul ...

as Prince Vladimir Bilinsky, one of Frou-Frou's mentors *

Philippe Lemaire Philippe Lemaire (14 March 1927 – 15 March 2004) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 90 films from 1946 to 2004. Lemaire was married three times; Nicole Pinton (1949–1951) (divorced); Juliette Gréco from 1953 to 1956, had one da ...

as Michel Arthus, the young painter *

Ivan Desny Ivan Desny (born Ivan Nikolaevich Desnitsky; , 28 December 1922 – 13 April 2002) was a French actor of Russian Chinese origin. He had a lengthy career in French and German cinema, appearing in over 200 film and television roles over 50 year ...

as Henri de Gaspard, Frou-Frou's first lover *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky, ; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era's ...

as Grand duke Alexis *

Jean Wall Jean Wall (31 December 1900 – 24 October 1959) was a French stage actor, stage and film actor.Goble p. 306 He also directed two films. Partial filmography * ''La vagabonde'' (1932) – Le peintre Adolphe Taillandy * ''Chair ardente'' (1932) � ...

as Jean Sabatier, one of Frou-Frou's mentors * Umberto Menalti as Count Sigismond Meursault, one of Frou-Frou's mentors *

Daniel Ceccaldi Daniel Ceccaldi (25 July 1927 – 27 March 2003) was a French actor. He was born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France. The mild-mannered Daniel Ceccaldi is famous as Claude Jade's father ''Lucien Darbon'' in François Truffaut's movies ''Stolen Kis ...

as Chevalier des Grieux, the young man at the masked ball * Marie Sabouret as Grande duchess Anna Ivanovna, keeper of a Russian restaurant * Béatrice Arnac as Rosemonde * Simone Sylvestre as Ketty *

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, ...

as The mistress * Isabelle Pia as Michèle Dubois, Frou-Frou's daughter

References

External links

*
Frou-Frou (1955)
at the ''Films de France'' 1955 films French comedy films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Augusto Genina Films based on works by Jacques Laurent 1955 comedy films 1950s French films Films scored by Louiguy French-language comedy films {{1950s-France-comedy-film-stub