La nuit de Sybille

Two burglars,an ex-con and an antique dealer short of the readies sneak into an uninhabited old castle ;but they meet a girl,the would be owner of the castle 's daughter,who keeps them at bay with a pistol from the nineteenth century;she's actually a drifter from a reformatory who squats the place. She has a rendez-vous that night with a so called well-respected man and she asks them to help her spend a night full of dreams before being arrested by the gendarmes ; the antique dealer will be her uncle,his sidekick the servant in livery and she will pass off as a baron's niece .But the arrival of a superintendent asking for hospitality spoils the party.

A very good little comedy,an update of "Cinderella" in which the fairy godmother is replaced by two thieves and the Prince Charming ,who has "business" in South America , is actually a pimp.

Lines often hit home, thanks to highly talented Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon , and there are plenty of sudden new developments ; a false baron, a false heiress ,a false servant ,a false romantic lover and a true superintendent ....even the miniature the antique dealer covets is a replica:the original can be found in the Louvres.

The night of Sybille ,which does not stop at midnight,like in the fairytale, won't be the one she expected .

You should see Daniel Gelin in livery ,who already detests the girl's attentive escort he has not still met;Pierre Baroux as a clumsy baron who keeps a close watch on his niece ,about to elope with the first to come;and Pierre Larquey as the cop who knows too much about his "hosts " and who clings to them all night .

Jean-Paul Paulin made some interesting movies: "l'esclave blanc" , "les filles du Rhone " and the Maréchal Pétain's reportedly favorite movie "la nuit merveilleuse" ,the Nativity set in Provence. This less-than-marvelous night has plenty of charm yet.