Main Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais, Mel Ferrer, Pierre Bertin, Jean Richard, Elina Labourdette, Magali Noël
Release Year: 1956
Country: IT/FR
Run Time: 86 minutes
Plot
In the 1950s, French films were considered the ne plus ultra in naughtiness by certain impressionable filmgoers. It was to these movie fans that the American distributor of Jean Renoir's Elena et les Hommes (Elena and the Men) catered when it provocatively retitled the picture Paris Does Strange Things As further grist to the mill for American publicity hacks, the film starred Ingrid Bergman, who had recently returned to Hollywood after her career was nearly ruined by a marital scandal. Actually there was nothing overtly erotic about Paris Does Strange Things. The film was a sweet romantic comedy wherein Bergman plays a poverty-stricken Polish princess, who is wooed by eligible admirers Mel Ferrer and Jean Marais. Will she marry for love, or merely to restore her wealth? The suspense is bearable. Inexpertly cut to 86 minutes for its American showings, Paris Does Strange Things was restored to its full 98 minutes in 1986 and its title reverted to Elena et les Hommes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Juliette Greco - Miarka; Leo Marjane - The Street Singer; Gerard Buhr; Jaque Catelain; Dora Doll - Rosa la Rose; Jim Gérald - Cafe Owner; Claire Gérard - The Strolling Woman; Jacques Hilling - Lisbonne; Jacques Jouanneau - Eugene Godin; Léon Larive - Henri's Domestic; Robert Le Beal - The Doctor; Renaud Mary - Fleury; Gaston Modot - The Leader of Gypsies; Jean Ozenne; Albert Remy - Buchez; Aram Stephan; Olga Valery - Aunt Olga; Jean Castanier - Isnard; Jean Claudio - Lionel Villaret; Mirko Ellis - Marbeau; Paul Demange - A Spectator; Hubert DeLapparent; Rodolfo Lodi
Credit
Rosine Delamare - Costume Designer, Monique Plotin - Costume Designer, Serge Vallin - First Assistant Director, Jean Renoir - Director, Boris Lewin - Editor, Joseph Kosma - Composer (Music Score), Juliette Greco - Songwriter, Leo Marjane - Songwriter, Jean André - Production Designer, Claude Renoir - Cinematographer, Louis Wipf - Production Manager, Louis Wipf - Producer, Jean André - Set Designer, William Robert Sivel - Sound/Sound Designer, Jean Renoir - Screenwriter, Jean Serge - Screenwriter
Elena and Her Men is a 1956 film directed by Jean Renoir and starring Ingrid Bergman, and was her first film after leaving husband Roberto Rossellini. The film's original French title was Elena et les Hommes and in English-speaking countries, the title was Paris Does Strange Things.
