Mademoiselle **** (1966, Jeanne Moreau, Ettore Manni, Umberto Orsini, Keith Skinner) – Classic Movie Review 13,202

Jeanne Moreau stars in director Tony Richardson’s 1966 black and white psychological thriller film Mademoiselle as a schoolteacher in a French village, a sexually repressed sociopath obsessed with virile Italian logger Manou (Ettore Manni).

The prejudiced villagers blame Manou for fires and a flood, but Mademoiselle is the culprit, fired with passion for Manou. Meanwhile, Manou’s son Bruno (Keith Skinner) develops a crush on his teacher Mademoiselle, but she turns on him and humiliates him. Obviously, no good is going to come of it.

Mademoiselle is a bizarre oddity, a heady study of untamed desire, with an original script by Jean Genet and Marguerite Duras no less, originally written for Anouk Aimée, but later taken over by Genet’s friend Jeanne Moreau, who gave it to British director Tony Richardson.

Richardson manages a steamy, exotic tone, keeping the lid on the emotionally intense film. David Watkin provides the beautiful black and white location cinematography, and, best of all, Jeanne Moreau handles the weird sexual tension engagingly, giving an impressive, stylish performance. She sure puts the Mad in Mademoiselle.

The film is shot on location in and around the Corrèze village of Le Rat, in central France.

The British and French co-production (Woodfall Film Productions and Procinex) was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered on 12 May 1966. It was released by United Artists in France on 3 June 1966 and in the UK on 12 January 1967. It is an art movie, so some viewers were puzzled and alienated, and its UK release was confined to art houses where audiences might be more sympathetic.

It won a BAFTA Award for Best British Costume Design (black and white) (for Jocelyn Rickards) and David Watkin was nominated for Best Cinematography (black and white).

The cast are Jeanne Moreau as Mademoiselle, Ettore Manni as Manou, Keith Skinner as Bruno, Umberto Orsini as Antonio, Georges Aubert as René, Jane Beretta as Annett, Paul Barge as Young Policeman, Pierre Collet as Marcel, Gérard Darrieu as Boulet, Jean Gras as Roger, Gabriel Gobin as Police Sergeant, Rosine Luguet as Lisa, Antoine Marin as Armand, Georges Douking as the Priest, and Jacques Monod as the Mayor.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,202

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