Madeleine, a former prostitute, joyfully awaits the return of her daughter, Suzanne, whom she had placed in a wealthy school. Suzanne, haughty and quite contemptuous, is greatly disappointed when she notices that her mother is of modest means. Suzanne tells Alberto, the man who promised her marriage, about her mother's situation.
By and large ,it will remind you of Marcel Carné 's "Jenny"(1936) ,but the ending is more tragic. Guy Lefranc's directing is flat and uncreative ,but it's a gripping melodrama ,from start to finish. How come? It must be Henri Jeanson ,one of the greatest writer France had ever had , whose lines always hit home ; often caustic, bitter ,cynical , they fit like a glove a story where everybody lies .
It must be the cast : the old school meets the pre-NV one for the best ; Madeleine Robinson is as brilliant as ever : a mother who bled herself dry so that her belover daughter (born out of wedlock) can be carefully taught and educated ;matching her every step of the way is Jeanne Moreau (whose career began long before the notorious NV: see "meurtres" ,the first French movie with includes euthanasia)in her part of a haughty despising cold daughter who thinks her mom's place is nothing by a dump,nothing to do with the chic school where she was brought up ;and great support comes from the third lady , played by excellent Jane Marken ,a former prostitute too , the mother treats like a friend, but is nothing but a servant for the young girl.
Henri Vilbert dominates the male cast ,as Madeleine 's crude former lover and Suzanne's father who makes her the "manager" of his crummy movie theater (the staff includes his shrew of a wife and a moronic son);Gianny Musi as the rich kid ,who wants to use the ill-fated Suzanne as a sex object is not on a par with the others and is perhaps too bland for this kind of part.
Tragedy will have to strike before Suzanne calls Madeleine ,at last ,"mommy ".
