Brigitte Bardot memorable in The truth
The truth (1960) is undoubtedly one of the greatest films of Brigitte Bardot (with Contempt by Godard). At least, according to her, his best role. That of Dominique Marceau, inspired by Pauline Dubuisson, judged in 1953 for the murder of her ex-boyfriend. Accordingly, the director Henry George Clouzot made changes to Dominique’s character to more closely match Brigitte Bardot’s personality.
Thus we discover an attractive and carefree woman, madly in love with Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey), a young conductor, although promised to Dominique’s sister. They start a passionate relationship, but they tear themselves apart, particularly due to Gilbert’s possessive nature. And when the latter decides to leave Dominique to get engaged to her sister, the young girl takes revenge on her by betraying him. Sinking into depression, she still goes to Gilbert with a weapon and threatens to commit suicide. But in their confrontation, Dominique shoots and kills the boy.
This story is told during Dominique’s trial, marked by the excellent performances of Charles Vanel and Paul Meurisserespectively defender of the civil party and of the Court of Assizes. Brigitte Bardot excels just as inside The truth. Especially in one of the most memorable scenes of the trial. A moving monologue (at 2min44 of the video below) which earned the actress applause from the entire film set.
The tyrannical Henry-George Clouzot on the set
The filming of The truth she was rehearsing for Brigitte Bardot. It must be said that Henry-George Clouzot was a tough and demanding director, ready to push his actors to the limit to get what he wants. Before Bardot, Bernard Blier had received a slap from the director in the middle of filming Headquarter (1947). Suzy Delair later stated “We were all beaten. But for the better!“, as Samuel Blumenfeld recalls in a rich article in the newspaper The world dedicated to the filming of the film.
Brigitte Bardot was therefore not spared by Clouzot. And this, from the first days. The director went to the extent of grabbing the actress and shaking her first crush his foot with your heel. The director did not like a smile released before a take and shouted at Bardot: “I don’t need amateurs in my films. I want an actress“.”And I need a director. Not from a sick person“replied the latter slapping him. A reaction which, moreover, did not displease Clouzot.
In addition to this act of violence, Henry-George Clouzot tried to upstage his actress in a situation of insecurity. To do this, she brought out the technicians and whispered words that were difficult to hear in Bardot’s ear, evoking for example Depression by Jacques Charrier, his husband. A way for him to”restore, on the screen, the vulnerability of the murderer Dominique Marceau“.
Once the actress was in tears, the technicians were called back and the director then captured her emotion. That one day this phrase from Bardot will be worth it: “You know, you went looking for those far away“. As a symbol of his devotion to this director that she “wantedThis is what he declared during an interview at the time of filming (viaIN A below), adding: “Gentleman Clouzot is not at all the tyrant we think he is. On the contrary. I get along very well with him, from a filming point of view he’s fantastic“.
Brigitte Bardot came close to dying
But the filming of The truth it wasn’t far from drama when Brigitte Bardot had to do it shoot the suicide scene by Dominique Marceau. To be as convincing as possible, Henry-George Clouzot advises her to take a glass of water with aspirin. The actress does so, and in the image the sequence in which Bardot falls asleep is notable.
Only Bardot doesn’t wake up. Because instead of aspirin, Clouzot actually gave it to him sleeping pills and whisky. You will have to wait There are 72 hours until the actress wakes upwhich logically provoked the anger of his father, Louis Bardot, who then threatened the director with a lawsuit.
In hindsight, this sequence of Dominique Marceau’s suicide is disturbing. First of all because, well before the filming of The truththe actress had he has already made a first suicide attempt. She was at 4pm, after meeting Roger Vadim (six years older than him). His parents rejected their relationship, Bardot attempted to end his life by placing his head in the oven of their apartment. The return of her parents in time allowed her to be saved. And then they decided that she would marry Vadim but not before she was 18.
This was not the only attempt, since after the filming of The truth Brigitte Bardot almost killed herself again on September 28, 1960. This time she swallowed sleeping pills and opened his veins (like his character Dominique Marceau in the film). Luckily she was found in time. However, her condition did not allow him to attend the film’s premiere a month later on November 2, 1960.
Source: Cine Serie
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