Come Dance with Me! (French: Voulez-vous danser avec moi ?), released in Italy as Sexy Girl, is a 1959 French-Italian drama film directed by Michel Boisrond and starring Brigitte Bardot. The film is based on the 1956 novel The Blonde Died Dancing by American author Audrey "Kelley" Roos.
| Come Dance with Me! | |
|---|---|
 French theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michel Boisrond |
| Written by | Michel Boisrond Gérard Oury Jean-Charles Tacchella Annette Wademant L.C. Thomas |
| Based on | The Blonde Died Dancing by Kelley Roos |
| Produced by | Francis Cosne |
| Starring | Brigitte Bardot Henri Vidal Dawn Addams |
| Cinematography | Robert Lefebvre |
| Edited by | Claudine Bouché |
| Music by | Henri Crolla André Hodeir |
Production companies | Francos Films Cinematografica |
| Distributed by | Sofradis |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Countries | France Italy |
| Language | French |
| Box office | 3,196,005 admissions (France)[1] |
Plot
editAgainst her wealthy industrialist father Albert's wishes, young Virginie (Brigitte Bardot) marries dentist Hervé Dandieu (Henri Vidal). After three months, all passion has disappeared, and after an argument, Hervé leaves the house for a drink at a club. There, he is seduced by Anita Florès (Dawn Addams), a red-headed dance instructor. Unbeknownst to him, Anita is a scam artist who has sent her boyfriend Léon (Serge Gainsbourg) to photograph her in companionship with Hervé. Although Hervé eventually decides to stay faithful to his wife, Léon is able to take some pictures of their intimate moments.
Hervé refuses to give in to any of her attempts to blackmail him, until she calls him one night. Virginie and Albert overhear the conversation, after which Virginie concludes that her husband is having an affair. The next day, she follows him to Anita's dance studio, and when looking through the keyhole, she spots Anita's murdered body next to Hervé, who is holding a gun. Hervé convinces her that he is not guilty and they flee the place of crime through the back door, although they are noticed by some of the staff members. To prove her husband's innocence, she charms Anita's husband Florès (Darío Moreno) into hiring her as a dance teacher in order to gain the opportunity to find more information.
While going through the studio, Virginie overhears a conversation between Mr. Florès and his mistress Daisy (Maria Pacôme), who plan on misleading the detectives. After several investigations of the inspectors, Virginie is convinced that she has found the murderer through a letter. According to her, this man is Gérard Lalemand. Because the detectives do not believe her, she decides to contact Gérard herself. Virginie talks to him over the phone and arranges a meeting. When Gérard fails to show up, Virginie locates his residence, where she is told that Mr. Lalemand has been dead for over three years. Virginie realizes that she has been talking to Lalemand's son (Georges Descrières), who is the same charming man whom she met earlier at the studio.
Shortly after, Léon has been arrested for blackmailing Hervé. He admits that he is the mysterious person who left the studio over the roof on the night of the murder, but claims that Hervé is the guilty one. To Hervé's surprise, Albert uses a trick to prove Hervé's innocence to the detectives: He claims that a witness saw the murder, whereupon Herve bursts into joy, suggesting to the hidden detectives that he did not commit the murder.
In the meantime, Virginie believes that she has tracked Gérard Lalemand down to Blue Fetish, a gay nightclub where he is performing as a singing transvestite under the alias Danielle. Upon confronting him, she realizes that the man is not Lalemand but her fellow dance teacher Daniel (Philippe Nicaud). Virginie leaves soon afterwards to return to Gérard Lalemand's residence.
There, she finds out that the real Lalemand is an acquaintance to Florès and Daisy, who have given a false statement when Lalemand was still a suspect. Virginie is told that Anita was Lalemand's father's mistress and that she had permission to profit from Lalemand's F50 million inheritance while she was still alive. Therefore, obviously bisexual Lalemand has sent his boyfriend Daniel to kill Anita. Hervé's innocence is proven perfectly, and he gratefully kisses his wife.
Cast
edit- Brigitte Bardot as Virginie Dandieu
- Henri Vidal as Hervé Dandieu
- Dawn Addams as Anita Florès
- Darío Moreno as Florès
- Georges Descrières as Gérard Lalemand
- Serge Gainsbourg as Léon
- Maria Pacôme as Daisy
- François Chaumette as Joseph
- Noël Roquevert as Albert Decauville-Lachenée
- Philippe Nicaud as Daniel
Production
editUnlike her earlier films, for which she received a notably lesser salary, Brigitte Bardot demanded $200,000 when she was cast.[2] Sylvia Lopez was originally cast as Anita Florès, but terminal leukemia prohibited her from finishing the film. She withdrew after a few days of shooting and was replaced by Dawn Addams.[3]
Shooting took place at the Victorine Studios in Nice. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean André.
Reception
editThe film in US grossed $2 million, a dissatisfactory amount compared to Bardot's earlier films.[2] The flop inspired Raoul Lévy, the producer who made Bardot a star,[2] to stop his collaboration with the actress.[2]
References
edit- ^ Box office information for film at Box Office Story
- ^ a b c d "Brigitte Bardot Washed Up, Says Man Who Made Her Star" by Joe Hyams, The Tuscaloosa News, February 21, 1961, p. 7
- ^ "Trivia for Come Dance With Me! (1960)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 9 June 2010.