And God Created Woman

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.

In St. Tropez, the orphan Juliete Hardy (Brigitte Bardot) is an eighteen years old woman sexually active and ahead of time, strongly desired by the wealthy middle age man Eric Carradine (Curd Jurgens). She has a crush on Antoine Tardieu (Christian Marquand), the older son that works in Toulon of a poor family that owns a modest shipyard, but he just want to have one nightstand with her. When Juliete's stepparents decide to send her back to the orphanage because of her bad reputation in the town, Antoine's brother Michel Tardieu (Jean-Louis Trintignant) proposes to marry her and she accepts, and she begins to love him. But when the Tardieu family decides to sell the shipyard to Eric and Antoine returns to St. Tropez, her lust for him blossoms again and becomes an announced tragedy.

This is the first time that I watch "Et Dieu... Créa la Femme" and I found it a surprisingly good movie. The story is extremely sexy and ahead of time, and works mainly because of the extremely beautiful and sensual Brigitte Bardot. Her sensuality and eroticism is impressive even in 2007, and I confess that I felt in love for her. The IMDb Tagline "...but the devil invented Brigitte Bardot!" is amazing, certainly one of the best I have ever read in this outstanding site. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "…E Deus Criou a Mulher" ("…And God Created the Woman")

Every great actress has her breakthrough role--the one that really puts her over with the public--and for 22-year-old Brigitte Bardot, that role came in 1956's "...And God Created Woman." In this film she plays an 18-year-old named Juliette, who marries younger brother Michel (Jean-Louis Trintignant) to spite older brother Antoine, all the while being pursued by the wealthy, middle-aged Carradine (Curt Jurgens). It is easy to see why BB proved so popular in this film. She is indeed very beautiful, and writer/director/husband Roger Vadim shows her off to good effect. OK, to address the thought uppermost in the minds of my fellow all-American red-blooded pigdogs, we get to see BB in all manner of formfitting outfits (sorry, no nude scenes or swimwear), seducing Antoine whilst laying in the surf, teasing behind sheets and under blankets, and, most impressively, doing a frenzied mambo. I dwell on BB's physique because, really, it is what the film is all about. Personalitywise and characterwise, Juliette is a fairly tiresome, repugnant and conscienceless creature. But physically...ooh la la! No wonder Carradine says that she was born to destroy men! The film also boasts location filming in San Tropez, a town that here looks nice and quaint, if surprisingly run-down. The DVD itself is mighty fine, with an impressive wide-screen image, crisp color and adequate subtitling. Men, pair this movie one night with the 1935 Marlene Dietrich vehicle "The Devil Is A Woman" and you just might give up on females for good!

Fave movie-quote - "I didn't know that love was a disease."

.... And god created woman???.... Well, yes.... If you consider director Roger Vadim as being "god" and actress Brigitte Bardot as being the "woman" - Then god (Vadim) certainly did create this woman (who happened to be his real-life wife at the time).... Yeah. And he sure put her together very nicely. Indeed.... Mmm-Mmm.

Anyway - (Keeping in mind that this off-kilter Comedy/Romance/Drama was produced in 1956) - For all of its numerous flaws and faults - It certainly turned out to be more entertaining than I had expected it to be.

And, I will enthusiastically admit that - Without its main attraction (the sultry, sexy, sweet-as-honey, Brigitte Bardot, who was 22 at the time) - This adult-oriented, foreign film would have amounted to nothing. I mean, at certain moments in the story Bardot really did shine amongst all the rubble.

Filmed at the St. Tropez beach area of coastal France - "And God Created Woman" was produced on a budget of $300,000. Released internationally - It grossed over $4 million in its first year, alone.

This groundbreaking Vadim film made Ms. Bardot the hottest sex symbol on the planet back in 1956. Vadim was never much of a director, but he had great taste in women (Bardot, Deneuve, J. Fonda). Brigitte Bardot is a knockout as a spoiled and selfish 20 y/o who doesn't seem to know what she wants, but all the men want HER! No one walks down a street like Ms. Bardot. Beautiful location and good performances all around.

It's too bad the dubbed version has a terrible voice used for Brigitte, but her physical presence carries it anyway. She knows how to move and hold your attention. Just an incredibly vibrant creature of the 50's. She has undervalued as an actress and no one was sexier or more sure of herself (at least ON screen). Best performance = Bardot. A 7 out of 10.