Voulez-vous danser avec moi?

This and another early Brigitte Bardot vehicle, UNE PARISIENNE (1957), had been available for rental at a local DVD store for a long time but I kept postponing getting to either, believing them to be minor frothy affairs; however, having just acquired and being on the point of watching a similar effort of hers – Marc Allegret's MADEMOISELLE STRIPTEASE aka PLUCKING THE DAISY (1956) – I thought I might as well check them out too while I am at it. Anyway, I opted to start with this one being ostensibly a thriller and, while I was expecting it to involve some nudity from the star (which technically there is none), I was surprised – especially when considering the film's essentially light touch – at the amount of sleaze on display (from explicit situations and dialogue to a subplot involving gay bars and drag queens!). The premise, in fact, revolves around the Police investigation into the murder of blackmailing dance teacher Dawn Addams; incidentally, the Inspector on the trail of the assassin is Luis Bunuel regular Paul Frankeur and Serge Gainsbourg, popular yet controversial singer/songwriter and later film-maker, makes an early appearance as the victim's accomplice (photographing her in compromising positions with wealthy patrons). Their latest victim is dentist Henri Vidal (whose last film this proved to be, expiring from a heart attack at the young age of 40 – he was married to star Michele Morgan, having met on the set of his best-remembered movie i.e. the Italian spectacle FABIOLA [1948]); Bardot is his wife, whose father (Noel Roquevert, from a number of H.G. Clouzot titles) is an industrialist. Vidal had run into Addams at a nightclub after a row with his bride: she even goes to his clinic, where Bardot works as his assistant, and supplies him with incriminating photos of their dalliance. On his part, not intending to pay, he visits Addams at her studio and causes a scene – but then relents and makes an appointment for the next day at the same place; when he arrives, Vidal finds the woman dead and is then surprised in the room by Bardot who had followed him there! Of course, he has to confess everything and though Roquevert does not readily believe him, Bardot does and determines to establish his innocence (since his description was given to the Police by Addams' dance colleagues) by finding the real killer. To this end, she takes a job as a dance teacher there and even ingratiates herself with Frankeur; incidentally, it appears that the killer could not have exited the room before Vidal's entrance as there is no other way out: this actually reminds Bardot of the Gaston Leroux novel "The Mystery Of The Yellow Room" (whose 1930 film adaptation by Marcel L'Herbier, along with its sequel THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK – nothing whatsoever to do with the atypical Italian giallo from 1974 – I have also just gotten my hands on!) and from here on in, as the saying goes, the plot thickens. Despite the generic and downright misleading title, this is a fairly enjoyable picture (especially easy to take in pleasant color); mind you, the suspense reaches no great heights (given that the murder method is given away all too soon and the motive emerges to be characteristically weak) – and, yet, the viewer's attention is engaged throughout and one is genuinely curious to discover the guilty party's identity (what with the variety of suspects being fingered along the way).

Brigitte Bardot was so completely feminine, playful, beautiful, and witty, she couldn't miss connecting with the male sector of any movie-going audience. And the women must have hated her, or at least envied her to tears.

Bardot's face is so luminous, focusing upon it is more stimulating than seeing close-up, revealing body shots of her contemporaries such as Eckberg and Lollobrigida. She could take a mediocre, or in this case, convoluted plot, and save a film which would have been a dud with just about any other female star.

The film is fast-paced, and suspenseful, in so far as the futility of trying to guess the culprit's identity, prior to the odds and ends being tied up neatly, in the end. And it far surpasses Bardot's collaboration with director Michel Boisrond, in "Mme. Pigalle," produced three years earlier. That one is filled with artifice and "mannerisms." such as fake auto rides, background landscape fakery, lip-synch singing, fake piano playing, and the stereotypical bumbling, "moronic cops" syndrome, so prevalent in films of the time. This film contains no artifice, or editing "tricks," whatsoever, and while it lacks for substance, it is entertaining, and the Bardot charisma at this most appealing stage of her life, stays with one, long after the curtain rings down.

Henri Vidal, in his final role before his untimely death at age 40, is well-cast, as Bardot's husband who is being blackmailed by femme fatale Dawn Addams, herself a red-headed stunner who exits the film much too soon to suit the male voyeur contingent.

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This well-made movie just has one flaw: Brigitte Bardot is not suited for playing a crime plot. As her talents are with light comedy, she is not able to carry out the necessary mystery, horror and suspense here.

For this reason I think 'Voulez-vous danser avec moi?' not entirely convincing. But apart from that, it's quite entertaining. It is shot well, its acting is good, and its story catches the viewer's interest from beginning to end. Of course your special attention for the scenes in the dance-school, fully displaying Brigitte's excellent dancing skills.

This movie also seriously deals with homosexuality, back in 1959 a groundbreaking issue. For this reason I guess Paris must have been the only location possible.

"Voulez-vous danser avec moi?" (= French for 'do you want to dance with me?'), shows competent acting in a well-built crime plot.

Set in color in the late 1950-s, this film openly deals with the Paris homo & travesty scene. Which was pretty groundbreaking for the staunch Roman Catholic France of those days.

Brigitte Bardot's appearance in "Voulez-vous danser avec moi?" shines all the way down. Showing off her dancing talents (you may know Brigitte qualified at the Paris conservatory as a classical ballet dancer). While shooting this film, Brigitte was pregnant with her only child -- according to some this shows off in her advantage as well. The third show-off is made by Brigitte's dress in a cross-striped pattern - known to this day in fashion as the 'Brigitte Bardot - design'.

In spite of her dazzling appearance, one cannot escape the conclusion that Bardot plays the wrong part here. Apart from being beautiful, Brigitte has a definite talent for light comedy. Acting crime & mystery just isn't her trade.

My last words should be for male lead Henri Vidal. In December 1959, aged 40, he died from a heart attack. This happened shortly after the completion of "Voulez-vous danser avec moi?".

After a discussion with his spoiled wife Virginie (Brigitte Bardot), the playboy dentist Hervé Dandieu (Henri Vidal) goes to a bar where he meets the sexy dance teacher Anita Flores (Dawn Addams). She invites Hervé to dance with her and while dancing, his father-in-law arrives in the place and Hervé sneaks out with Anita. Hervé drives Anita home, and she invites him to have one last drink; Anita seduces him and they kiss each other on the sofa, while her hidden partner takes pictures of the intimacy of the couple. Hervé leaves Anita without having sex, but is blackmailed by her. She schedules a meeting with him in the dance school, but Virginie listens to their conversation and believes that Hervé is cheating her. Virginie is snoops Hervé in the dance school, and he finds Anita dead and becomes the prime suspect of the police. Virginie asks for a job in the dance school and decides to investigate the case by her own.

The silly and naive "Voulez-vous Danser Avec Moi?" has a predictable screenplay and is supported by the charm and beauty of Brigitte Bardot. Dawn Addams has a minor participation, but she is astonishing with her blues eyes and beauty. In the end, forget this flawed story and enjoy Brigitte Bardot acting like a detective and Dawn Addams that you will have a nice entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Quer Dançar Comigo?" ("Do You Want to Dance with Me?")