Made during the occupation days to cheer up the French ,"le prince charmant" capitalized on Danielle Darrieux 's earlier triumphs :"battement de coeur" ( 1940)and "premier rendez-vous "(1941),both Henry Decoin's works : the well-known story of the orphan ,the Cinderella syndrome ,the fairytale which comes true.
But Renée Faure did not possess Darrieux 's charm and
she had not plenty of go like her. So
she's cast as a bashful orphan, without the go-getter side of Darrieux .
Sabine sits for photographer Bréchaud (but no cheesecake!) ;she's an orphan ,living in a modest apartment with her sister. Some day,she replaces a model in a parade of elegant women in elegant cars ,and she's awarded the first prize ; a handsome young count ,,Thierry, notices her and it's love at first sight : at first she pretends she 's a noble too, but she 's honest and she tells the whole truth .Although still in love with her, the young count suspects she may be a fortune -hunter : so,in complicity with his butler and his best friend, he passes himself off as a bank clerk ,with a alcoholic father and a shady brother....
Jimmy Gaillard, who plays the young romantic male lead began his career as a child, directed by such great directors as Julien Duvivier,Raymond Bernard and Marcel L'Herbier; a nice jeune premier , his career was ruined by a car crash in 1952 .
However ,the last part of the movie belongs to Lucien Baroux and to Robert Arnoux,the latter a distinguished butler turning into a crude barfly.
Director Jean Boyer was always interested in music and songs ;like his colleague Duvivier,he would often write words to the songs ;and he was hip : they play swing and jive : Thierry is a musician in a "swingstette" ,much to his prim and proper parents ' displeasure.
