The end of the silent era in movies signal the demise for many of the stars that could not adapt to the new medium. Either they had not mastered the technique required for the 'talkies', or they had terrible speaking voices, or their way of emoting got in the way for many to make the transition.
We find Stella Dora at a provincial movie theater where her last silent film is being shown. She is desperate knowing her movie career is over. Her lover, Roger Marney, thinks she will get back if she gets the right vehicle in which to make a come back. The opportunity comes in the form of Madeleine, the maid in the place where the couple is staying. She sings all the time, something that gets on Stella's nerves.
Roger sees the perfect opportunity for Stella to shine. Why not use Madeleine's singing voice in some production that will require it. He sells the idea and the film becomes a great success, not only for her acting, but for Stella's fine voice. Only a few are in on the secret, among them, Gaston, a sound engineer that has mastered the playback to be incorporated to the new way to make pictures.
Madeleine becomes disillusioned when trying to make it on her own. She is tied to Roger Mornay, by a contract and by a kind of loyalty, but she could not care for Stella Dora who treats her as though she were a worm. When Stella dies in a car accident, Billy, a sort of impresario, decides to make Madeleine a star, but the ghost of Stella makes it impossible. Her noble boyfriend, Pierre, who has loved her always, is there at the end to come to help her, after everyone deserts her.
Obviously a vehicle for Edith Piaf, this French film directed and co- written by Marcel Blistine, reminds some contributors of Stanley Donen's "Singin' in the Rain", which came a decade later. There is no question the American take on basically the same subject was much better because of the elements that went into its making. The French film is a melodrama that suffers perhaps by the star's awkwardness in front of the camera. After all Edith Piaf was a singer whose milieu did not include a movie set. She was electrifying seen in person because the way she was able to say a song in her inimitable way.
The production includes well established actors like Serge Reggiani, Marcel Herrand, Jules Berry, Mila Parely and others. See it as a piece of curious nostalgia even though Ms. Piaf singing is heard in the background, more than sung to the audience.
We find Stella Dora at a provincial movie theater where her last silent film is being shown. She is desperate knowing her movie career is over. Her lover, Roger Marney, thinks she will get back if she gets the right vehicle in which to make a come back. The opportunity comes in the form of Madeleine, the maid in the place where the couple is staying. She sings all the time, something that gets on Stella's nerves.
Roger sees the perfect opportunity for Stella to shine. Why not use Madeleine's singing voice in some production that will require it. He sells the idea and the film becomes a great success, not only for her acting, but for Stella's fine voice. Only a few are in on the secret, among them, Gaston, a sound engineer that has mastered the playback to be incorporated to the new way to make pictures.
Madeleine becomes disillusioned when trying to make it on her own. She is tied to Roger Mornay, by a contract and by a kind of loyalty, but she could not care for Stella Dora who treats her as though she were a worm. When Stella dies in a car accident, Billy, a sort of impresario, decides to make Madeleine a star, but the ghost of Stella makes it impossible. Her noble boyfriend, Pierre, who has loved her always, is there at the end to come to help her, after everyone deserts her.
Obviously a vehicle for Edith Piaf, this French film directed and co- written by Marcel Blistine, reminds some contributors of Stanley Donen's "Singin' in the Rain", which came a decade later. There is no question the American take on basically the same subject was much better because of the elements that went into its making. The French film is a melodrama that suffers perhaps by the star's awkwardness in front of the camera. After all Edith Piaf was a singer whose milieu did not include a movie set. She was electrifying seen in person because the way she was able to say a song in her inimitable way.
The production includes well established actors like Serge Reggiani, Marcel Herrand, Jules Berry, Mila Parely and others. See it as a piece of curious nostalgia even though Ms. Piaf singing is heard in the background, more than sung to the audience.