À cause, à cause d'une femme (1963)
Directed by Michel Deville

Film Review

À cause, à cause d'une femme, the fourth movie by filmmaker Michel Deville, had its Parisian premiere on the 17th April 1963.  Although the title of this crime-comedy refers to a poem by Verlaine, it is actually no more than a pleasant piece of light-hearted banter.  The film's style is typical of this original author whose touching and entertaining approach to filmmaking will be used to great effect in several movies to come.

In this delicious little fantasy, Deville amuses himself and the viewer as he depicts the multiple amorous relations of a handsome young man accused of murder by a jealous woman.  When two of the man's mistresses decide to join forces and help him out, the fresh and pleasing mixture of vaudeville and crime investigation develops into a story that brims with humour and bittersweet poignancy.  The classical music chosen by Deville provides the perfect support for both the intimate and more lively scenes.

Cast by Deville to play the irresistible Don Juan character, Jacques Charrier gives a less than convincing performance, perhaps on account of the private problems he had to deal with at the time.  By contrast, the female characters are portrayed more effectively by a brace of talented actresses.  These include: Mylene Demongeot (later used by Deville in L'Appartement des filles and also the star of the Fantômas films with Louis de Funès); Marie Laforêt (first seen alongside Alain Delon in René Clément's masterpiece Plein soleil); Juliette Mayniel (revealed by Claude Chabrol's Les Cousins and Georges Franju's Les Yeux sans visage), Jill Haworth (a British actress seen in Otto Preminger's Exodus and André Hunebelle's Les Mystères de Paris).  We should also note, in supporting roles, Odile Versois (the sister of actress Marina Vlady) and German actor Helmut Griem (revealed in Bob Fosse's Cabaret).

Film Synopsis

The young and seductive Rémi is a lady's man of the first degree.  He knows that women find his charms irresistible and he exploits the fact to his advantage, oblivious to the hearts he may break along the way.  Rémi's present entourage includes Nathalie, who loves him with indifference, Lisette, who loves him with a childish playfulness, Agathe, who loves him passionately, and Chloé, who loves him with a fierce possessiveness bordering on sociopathic obsession.  Of these, Chloé is the most dangerous, and, jealous of her rivals, she accuses Rémi of murdering her boyfriend.  To clear his name, Rémi begins his own investigation, assisted by Lisette and Agathe.  Along the way, Rémi meets Cecilia, an alluring woman who proves to be a far greater interest to him than the solution of the murder mystery...