Elena et les hommes (1956)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Jean Renoir (scenario & adaptation and dialogue)
Jean Serge (adaptation)

Release Date:

31 December 1956 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Polish countess Elena falls in love to a Frensh radical party's candidate, a general, in pre world war I Paris, but another officer pines for her.

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Character Name In Title

Cast

Ingrid Bergman	...	Elena Sokorowska
Jean Marais	...	Général François Rollan
Mel Ferrer	...	Le comte Henri de Chevincourt
Jean Richard	...	Hector
Juliette Gréco	...	Miarka, la gitane (as Juliette Greco)
Pierre Bertin	...	Martin-Michaud
Dora Doll	...	Rosa la Rose
Frédéric Duvallès	...	Gaudin
Renaud Mary	...	Fleury
Jacques Morel	...	Duchêne
Albert Rémy	...	Buchez
Jean Claudio	...	Lionel Villaret
Mirko Ellis	...	Marbeau
Jacques Hilling	...	Lisbonne
Jacques Jouanneau	...	Eugène Martin-Michaud
Elina Labourdette	...	Paulette Escoffier
Olga Valéry	...	Olga
Gérard Buhr	...	Un soldat
Georges Hubert
Joan Castanyer	...	Isnard
Rodolfo Lodi
Gregori Chmara	...	Le domestique d'Elena
Gaston Modot	...	Le chef des bohèmiens
Liliane Ernout
Aram Stephan
Jim Gérald	...	Le cafetier
Yves Thomas
Claire Gérard	...	Une promeneuse
Charles Dolfus
René Bernard
Léo Marjane	...	La chanteuse de rue
Magali Noël	...	Lolotte
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Francine Bergé	...	Une soubrette de Rosa (uncredited)
René Berthier	...	(uncredited)
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Extra (uncredited)
Lyne Carrel	...	(uncredited)
Jaque Catelain	...	(uncredited)
Yvonne Dany	...	(uncredited)
Hubert de Lapparent	...	Le policier en civil (uncredited)
Paul Demange	...	Le spectateur au périscope (uncredited)
Pierre Duverger	...	(uncredited)
Corinne Jansen	...	(uncredited)
Léon Larive	...	Le domestique d'Henri (uncredited)
Robert Le Béal	...	Le docteur (uncredited)
Palmyre Levasseur	...	La vendeuse de journaux (uncredited)
Sandra Milo	...	Petit rôle (uncredited)
Michèle Nadal	...	Denise Martin-Michaud (uncredited)
Jean Ozenne	...	Le représentant du gouvernement (uncredited)
Paul Préboist	...	Le palefrenier (uncredited)
Louisette Rousseau	...	(uncredited)
Simone Sylvestre	...	Une amie d'Henri (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean Renoir

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean Renoir		scenario & adaptation and dialogue
Jean Serge		adaptation

Produced by
Louis Wipf	....	producer

Original Music by
Joseph Kosma

Cinematography by
Claude Renoir		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Borys Lewin

Production Design by
Jean André

Costume Design by
Rosine Delamare
Monique Plotin

Makeup Department
Alex Archambault	....	chief hair stylist
Ulysse	....	chief makeup artist

Production Management
Lucien Lippens	....	unit manager
Robert Turlure	....	unit manager: exteriors
Louis Wipf	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Serge Vallin	....	assistant director
Serge Witta	....	assistant director

Art Department
Robert André	....	assistant production designer
Jacques Saulnier	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
William Robert Sivel	....	sound engineer
Arthur Van der Meeren	....	assistant sound engineer (as Arthur van der Meeren)
Pierre Zann	....	assistant sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Gilbert Chain	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Maurice Breslave	....	costume execution (as Breslave)
Marie Gromtseff	....	costume execution (as Gromtzeff)
Barbara Karinska	....	costume execution (as Karinska)
Roland Meyer	....	furs
Noella Riotteau	....	jewelry designer
Léon Zay	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Armand Ridel	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Georges Van Parys	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Ginette Doynel	....	script girl
Georges Vallon	....	administrator (as Georges Valon)

Production Companies

• Franco London Films
• Les Films Gibé
• Electra Compagnia Cinematografica

Distributors

• Cinédis (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Dido Renoir (1984) (worldwide) (all media)
• Teledis (1984) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Interama Video Classics (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (video)
• Mundial Filmes (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Paris Does Strange Things (UK) (USA)
Elena and Her Men
Eliana e gli uomini (Italy)
As Estranhas Coisas de Paris (Brazil) [pt]
Elena et les hommes (Greece) [el]
Elena ja miehet (Finland) [fi]
Elena och männen (Sweden) [sv]
Elena og mændene (Denmark) [da]
Elena und die Männer (Austria) [de]
Elena y los hombres (Venezuela) [es]
Helena e os Homens (Portugal) [pt]
Weiße Margeriten (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

France:95 min | Germany:96 min | USA:98 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Franco London Films

Trivia:

Audrey Hepburn did not want to be separated from her husband 'Mel Ferrer' while she was making Funny Face (1957), so filming of the Paris scenes in that film were timed to coincide with Ferrer's filming for this film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ingrid (1984)

Soundtrack:

O Nuit

midway through the movie it falls apart

The first half hour or so of this movie I liked. The obvious budding romance between Ingrid Bergman and Mel Ferrer was cute to watch and I wanted to see the inevitable happen between them. However, once the action switched to the home of Ingrid's fiancé, it all completely fell apart. Instead of romance and charm, we see some excruciatingly dopey parallel characters emerge who ruin the film. The fiancé's boorish son and the military attaché's vying for the maid's attention looked stupid--sort of like a subplot from an old Love Boat episode. How the charm and elegance of the first portion of the film can give way to dopiness is beyond me. This film is an obvious attempt by Renoir to recapture the success he had with THE RULES OF THE GAME, as the movie is very similar once the action switches to the country estate (just as in the other film). I was not a huge fan of THE RULES OF THE GAME, but ELENA AND HER MEN had me appreciating the artistry and nuances of the original film.