Mademoiselle et son gang (1957)
Directed by Jean Boyer

Film Review

Just as her singing career was starting to take off in the mid-1950s, Line Renaud lent her talents to a number of modest films, most of which now languish in obscurity.  Mademoiselle et son gang is one such film, one of director Jean Boyer's least memorable films, even though it is a likeable entry in the comedy-thriller genre.  Renaud is well-utilised in a made-to-measure comedy role which makes use of her singing skills in one lively number, and she works well alongside her co-stars Jean Carmet and Christian Duvaleix, who form an effective double act.

Noël Roquevert gives the film some added comedy muscle as Line Renaud's indignant father, with Philippe Nicaud suitably cast as her oily, not-what-he-seems boyfriend.  It would be some years before the possible effect of crime fiction on real criminal activity would be taken seriously but here's a film from the 1950s that broaches the matter ahead of its time, albeit in a tongue-in-cheek vein.  The gags are few and far between but Mademoiselle et son gang makes an engaging little time waster which is amply redeemed by Renaud's feisty performance.

Film Synopsis

Dédé and Juju are two small-time crooks who, lacking imagination, resort to seeking inspiration in the manuscripts entered in a crime writers' competition.   The only story that grabs their attention is the one written by Sam O'Connor, who is in truth Agnès Bourdieux, the daughter of a police inspector.  Knowing nothing of Agnès's real identity, Dédé and Juju approach her and set about trying to gain her confidence by passing themselves off as publishers.  The aspiring writer soon sees through the deception but by this time she has already been adopted by a gang of outlaws as their leader.  The crooks are harbouring under the misapprehension that Agnès is the daughter of a notorious criminal who happens to be named Sam O'Connor.  Agnès's first criminal enterprise off the printed page goes horribly awry when Mr O'Connor escapes from prison and finds he has been replaced by the daughter he never knew he had...