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The Diary of a Chambermaid ()

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A chambermaid plots to climb the social ladder by marrying a wealthy man.
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Célestine
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Captain Mauger
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Georges Lanlaire
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Joseph
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Madame Lanlaire
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Rose
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Louise
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Captain Lanlaire
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Marianne
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Egon Brecher ...
The Postman (uncredited)
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Pierre (uncredited)
Ben Hall ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)

Directed by

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Jean Renoir

Written by

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Burgess Meredith ... (screenplay)
 
Octave Mirbeau ... (adapted from the novel by)
 
André Heuzé ... (play) (as Andre Heuse) &
André de Lorde ... (play) (as Andre de Lorde) and
Thielly Norès ... (play)

Produced by

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Benedict Bogeaus ... producer
Paulette Goddard ... producer (uncredited)
Burgess Meredith ... producer

Music by

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Michel Michelet

Cinematography by

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Lucien N. Andriot ... (as Lucien Andriot)

Editorial Department

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James Smith ... supervising editor

Production Design by

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Eugène Lourié ... (as Eugene Lourie)

Set Decoration by

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Julia Heron

Costume Design by

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Laure Lourié ... (uncredited)

Makeup Department

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Otis Malcolm ... makeup artist
Hedy Mjorud ... hair stylist: Miss Goddard (as Hedvig Mjorud)
Scotty Rackin ... hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Joseph Depew ... assistant director

Art Department

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Julia Heron ... interior decorator (uncredited)
Dorothea Holt ... illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department

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William H. Lynch ... sound technician (as William Lynch)

Special Effects by

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Lee Zavitz ... special effects (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Greta ... wardrobe
Barbara Karinska ... costumes: Miss Goddard (as Madame Karinska)
Eugene Joseff ... jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department

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David Chudnow ... music supervisor
Lucien Cailliet ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Carley Harriman ... assistant to producer
Arthur M. Landau ... production associate
James Stacy ... presenter
Paula Walling ... dialogue director

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Célestine (Paulette Goddard), the chambermaid, has a new job in the country, at the Lanlaires. She has decided to use her beauty to seduce a wealthy man, but Mr. Lanlaire (Reginald Owen) is not a right choice: the house is firmly controlled by Madame Lanlaire (Dame Judith Anderson), helped by the strange valet Joseph (Francis Lederer). Then she tries the neighbor, former officer Mauger (Burgess Meredith). This seems to work. But soon the son of the Lanlaires comes back. He is young, attractive, and does not share his mother's anti-Republican opinions. So Célestine's beauty attracts Captain Mauger, young Georges Lanlaire (Hurd Hatfield), and Joseph. Three men, from three different social classes, with three different conceptions of life. Will Célestine be able to convince Georges of her sincerity? Will sinister and inflexible Joseph let his views on Célestine be ruined? A quite disillusioned depiction of humanity. Written by Yepok

Plot Keywords
Taglines Why don't men let me alone! (Title lobby card). See more »
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Parents Guide Add content advisory for parents »
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Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Le journal d'une femme de chambre (France)
  • Tagebuch einer Kammerzofe (Germany)
  • Memorias de una doncella (Spain)
  • En kammarjungfrus memoarer (Sweden)
  • Celestines dagbok (Norway)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 86 min
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Did You Know?

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Trivia While wrongly billed as Renoir's last American film (there were several later films of note, including The Woman on the Beach), this pleasant film is a far cry from his early masterpieces - like Rules of The Game, The Grand illusion and The Crime of M. Lang. It's primarily notable for the small things it reveals after close examination. Paulette Goddard, in her mid-30s at the time, still manages to show the smiling presence and nuanced emotions that so charmed Charlie Chaplin; at one point, stumbling while she tries to balance a tray with a cake on it, she makes moves that are pure Chaplin. The cast is a study in the history of filmmaking: Dame Judith Anderson, whose credits range from Rebecca to Star Trek III (and once toured with a theater company performing the lead role in Hamlet); Irene Ryan would achieve fame decades later as one of the stars of The Beverly Hillbillies; and Burgess Meredith - who co-produced and co-wrote - played in hundreds of films and television productions, from the original 1939 Of Mice and Men through Rocky I, II, III, and V. See more »
Goofs When the Captain (Meredith) is going to the July 14 celebration, the shadow of the boom and mic are visible. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in Tiovivo c. 1950 (2004). See more »
Quotes Georges Lanlaire: I never found the urge to live or die on a big scale.
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