While Henri Laurent speeds along on the racing circuits, his pretty wife Françoise goes from luxury boutique to luxury boutique with her best friend Denise. One day, Denise lets her know that Henri has a lover. Outraged, Françoise moves out of marital home and rents a maids' room in Rue de l'Estrapade. Henri tries to get his wife back but Françoise does not listen. She even looks for a job in a prêt-à-porter shop and lets herself be courted by Robert, her neighbor across the landing...
Direction
Becker's gentle humanism elevates soap opera material.
Costume
Françoise's wardrobe journey from bourgeois to working-girl chic.
Cinematography
Parisian streets rendered with affectionate, unromantic clarity.
Director
Jacques Becker
Daniel Gélin
Robert
Louis Jourdan
Henri Laurent
Anne Vernon
Françoise Laurent
Jean Servais
Jacques Christian
Micheline Dax
Denise
Michel Flamme
Patrick
Jacques Morel
Marcel
Marcelle Praince
Madame Fourcade
Madame Pâquerette
Madame Pommier
Jean Valmence
Roland
Claude Larue
Corinne
Henri Belly
Freddy
Fernand Rauzéna
Simon
Émile Genevois
P'tit Louis
Jean Ozenne
le concierge
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Becker filmed on location at the actual Rue de l'Estrapade in the 5th arrondissement, a street named for a medieval torture device—ironic given the film's light touch.
Released the same year as Madame de..., this typifies 1950s 'cinema of quality'—polished, literary, and now overshadowed by the New Wave directors who found it stuffy.
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