Servante et maitresse
France,
1977, 90 min
Shown in 1977
CREDITS
- dir
-
Bruno Gantillon
- prod
-
Gilbert de Goldschmidt
- scr
-
Dominique Fabre, Frantz-André Burguet
- cam
-
Etienne Szabo
- cast
-
Victor Lanoux, Andrea Ferreol, Evelyne Buyle, Gabriel Cattand, David Pontremoli, Jean Rougerie
- prod co
-
Madeleine Films
- source
-
French Film Office
-
COMMENTS
Andrea Ferreol and Gilbert de Goldschmidt attended.
OTHER
This brooding dark comedy unites two of the most interesting French stars of recent years—Andrea Ferreol of La Grande Bouffe and A Virgin Named Mary and Victor Lanoux, the hero of Cousin Cousine. She plays a housekeeper who inherits her master’s wealth after years of service to him under less than ideal conditions. She has always loved his nephew (Lanoux) who arrives after the death to claim his inheritance, only to find that the old man left him nothing. As he is “between jobs,” he is forced to accept her only offer—to live with her as her servant, and the psycho-sexual games begin. The director shows a real flair for sardonic Gothic romance, turning the bizarre plot into a finely acted, engrossing entertainment.
FACTOID #336
Bing Crosby was invited several times for an onstage tribute at the Festival, reports then-director Claude Jarman, but declined the honor. “Nobody wants to see those little things that I used to do,” he modestly replied. He did attend though, with wife Kathy and their friend, Rita Hayworth.
