Boule de Suif (1945 film)
Boule de Suif (released in English-speaking countries as Angel and Sinner) is a black and white 1945 French drama film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Micheline Presle, Berthe Bovy and Louise Conte.

Background
The film was released in the autumn of 1945, and was the first French film incorporating the theme of resistance. It is an adaptation of two short stories by Guy de Maupassant Boule de suif and Mademoiselle Fifi, which are inter-weaved, and is set during the Franco-Prussian War. A reviewer in Britain noted its "sense of humour, drama, satire and technical skill".

A group of inhabitants of Rouen, travelling for various reasons by stagecoach to Le Havre, includes a prostitute, Élisabeth Rousset, known as Boule de Suif, who is generous and helpful to the others in the carriage, all but one of whom disdain her, but is confronted by their stupidity and complacency. They are detained at a tavern in Tôtes until Boule de Suif submits to the demands of the Prussian officer in residence there. Later, Boule de Suif murders the arrogant Prussian lieutenant (whom his friends nicknamed Fifi) and who had shamelessly displayed his taste for plunder and his sadistic inclinations, before she flees.

Cast
 Micheline Presle : Élisabeth Rousset (a prostitute, nicknamed 'Boule de Suif'. who was a French patriot resisted during the Franco-Prussian war.
 Louis Salou : A Prussian officer nicknamed "Fifi"
 Berthe Bovy : Mme Bonnet
 Alfred Adam : Cornudet
 Jean Brochard : Auguste Loiseau
 Suzet Maïs : Mme Loiseau
 Marcel Simon : Le comte Hubert de Bréville
 Louise Conte : La comtesse de Bréville
 Pierre Palau : Edmond Carré-Lamadon
 Janine Viénot : Mme Carré-Lamadon
 Jean Sinoël : Mr Follenvie, the tavern owner
 Gabrielle Fontan : Mme Follenvie
 Berthe Tissen : Daughter of a militia man
 Mona Dol : The sister
 Roger Karl : The major-Colonel
 Jim Gérald : Captain Von Kerfenstein
 Michel Salina : The officer musician
 Denis d'Inès : The curé d'Uville
 Georges Tourreil : The chief of the independent militia (franc-tireur)
 Marcel Mouloudji : A franc-tireur
 Pierre Duncan : A franc-tireur
 Nicolas Bataille : A franc-tireur
 Albert Malbert : Coachman
 Paul Faivre : Poitevin
 Robert Dalban : Oskar
 Howard Vernon : A Prussian
 Marcel Rouzé : Poitevin's servant
 Jean Werner : A Prussian

Reception
It was one of the most popular films of the year in France in 1945.

References

External links

1940s historical drama films
1945 films
French historical drama films
1940s French-language films
Films directed by Christian-Jaque
Films set in Normandy
Films based on Boule de Suif
Franco-Prussian War films
French black-and-white films
1945 drama films
1940s French films