Viva Maria! (1965)

Set in 1907 Central America, after the death of her father, the daughter of an Irish terrorist (Brigitte Bardot) joins a traveling troupe of players. She takes over as the other half of a singing act after one of the girls commits suicide. Together (the other half of the act is Jeanne Moreau), the two girls invent the striptease when Bardot accidentally tears her costume and Moreau joins her in the undressing. But when Moreau falls in love with a revolutionary (the living 8x10 glossy George Hamilton, which may be the film's best joke), the two become devoted revolutionaries, determined to bring down a fascist dictator (Jose Angel Espinoza). Directed by Louis Malle (THE FIRE WITHIN), the film is split into two parts. The show biz story and the revolution story. The film itself is an adventure/comedy but the film plods and doesn't kick into high gear and find its rhythm until the halfway mark, about an hour into the film. The film should sparkle but despite Bardot and Moreau's efforts, it just doesn't. The film is often witty with amusing visual images (pigeons dropping grenades on soldiers, a headless priest carrying his head in his hands) but it's terribly uneven though as I said, the second half is better than the first. The stunning Bardot is such a screen presence that even Moreau (normally a powerful screen presence in her own right) pales next to her. The score is by great Georges Delerue and rich looking cinematography (shot in Mexico) by Henri Decae. With Paulette Dubost, Claudio Brook and Carlos Lopez Moctezuma.