A rich man by the name of "Eric Carradine" (Curd Jürgens) wants to build a casino but needs the land owned by working class man named "Antoine Tardieu" (Christian Marquand) and his family. As it so happens, both men know a young and attractive woman named "Juliete Hardy" (Brigitte Bardot) who lives life to the fullest and it's because of her wanton disregard for convention that each want her in the worst possible way. Although Juliette loves Antoine and gives serious consideration to running off with him, she accidentally overhears Antoine bragging to a friend that he plans to sleep with her that night and then cast her aside the next morning. To further complicate matters, upon returning home that evening her foster parents tell her that they have decided to return her to the orphanage within a few days because of her flirtatious conduct. So with nowhere else to go she accepts a sudden marriage proposal from Antoine's younger brother "Michel" (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who absolutely adores her. Needless to say, this infuriates Antoine and the rest of the family who don't think very highly of her at all. Not only that but she doesn't change her conduct in the least--which only intensifies the sexual tension for all concerned. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film created quite a stir when it first came out and it's not hard to imagine why as Brigitte Bardot's performance was absolutely sensational. Having said that, however, I don't think the overall drama was nearly as sharp as it could have been. Additionally, I think it is only fair to say that this film's subject matter pales in comparison to other movies of this type today and with that in mind I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

The much-touted BB is on display here for all to see and admire. But frankly, she looks more provocative in the stills and posters outside the cinema than she does in the movie itself. It's an uninspired little quadrangle tale in which a boring lot of unsympathetic characters posture pathetically against authentic St Tropez backgrounds. In the course of over ninety minutes, nothing much of interest happens. It's one of these stories in which a lot of detailed groundwork is constantly being laid to give the audience the impression that something dramatically involving is just about to happen — but it never does. The businessman's efforts to acquire waterfront land suddenly bear fruit halfway through by a simple stratagem (and why is the anchorage allegedly worth millions anyway?) and how come the Morins who are painted as villainous "step-parents" at the beginning and from whom we expect some dazzling opposition to BB's plans, supportively change color without any explanation? Even the long-awaited climax in which one of the leading characters gets shot proves an absolute fizzer.

From the first scene onwards where we see Juliette (Bardot) sunbathing naked it is clear that the only reason Vadim made this movie is to make his wife an international superstar. I'll have to admit that some scenes are really iconic. I already mentioned the sunbathing, but also the scene where Juliette walks out of the sea with her dress open from her belly and of course the dance scene at the end of the movie.Despite these memorable scenes (especially from male view) the cinematography is very average. We hardly see any interesting shots. The script is very poor with dialog and scenes not worked out very well. The most interesting aspect of the story is the band of brothers, or more specific the demolition of this band by the force of nature that is Juliette. She loves Michel but longs for Antoine who just sees her as a one-night-stand. Then there is youngest brother Christian who's character is somewhere between his older brothers but he's to young to really participate in the game. Where there's a real loyalty between the brothers at the start of the movie at the end they all stand against each other. Antoine will leave for good and Christian who adored his eldest brother is disillusioned by the behavior of Antoine. Michel is probably most damaged. His mother and brother despise him for hanging on to his marriage with Juliette and he faces a future with her that will only include more drama. Apart from the sunbathing the movie is not very interesting until Juliette has her affair with Antoine and the brothers fall apart. The scene where Juliette starts dancing in the café and Michel caught while living the life she wants to live is by far the best of the movie. Bardot is so sensual in this scene and the acting by Trintignant very intense. Nowadays the movie is quiet tame but I can imagine that it caused a stir in the mid fifties. So really enjoyable for the above mentioned scenes but no milestone in the history of cinema.

By 1956 I was a child at primary school, and remember well that my colleagues mentioned that film. We were not permitted to go and watch the movie, but were concerned about it. B.B. was the sex symbol star by that time... to watch her was a shared aspiration by all her fans and to get it was a prowess. Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to watch a film starred by B.B. at a cinema room, nor by that time neither by now.The film career of B.B. is extensive indeed, but only a very few titles were brought to Chile. "And God created Woman", "Viva Maria" (where B.B. acts as a female guerrilla leader during the Mexican Revolution) have been the only films I ever remember to be exhibited in public cinema rooms in Chile.