Cette Sacree Gamine (aka Naughty Girl) (1956)

A nightclub owner (Bernard Lancret) must leave Paris quickly to evade police so he asks his star attraction (Jean Bretonniere) to look after his young daughter (Brigitte Bardot) until he can return. Complications and romance ensue. Written by Roger Vadim and directed by Michel Boisrond. Before she became an international sex symbol with AND GOD CREATED WOMAN, Brigitte Bardot starred in lightweight comedies like this one which closely resembles Frank Tashlin's SUSAN SLEPT HERE from two years before. Indeed, like the 1954 film, there's even a musical dream sequence (Bardot appears to be a decent dancer) and one can see Debbie Reynolds or Sandra Dee effortlessly playing Bardot's role in an American version. Still, despite all the farcical antics and the frantic efforts of the game cast, it plays like a tepid cup of tea rather than sparkling wine. Cinematography by Joseph C. Brun (ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW) who makes excellent use of the CinemaScope frame, particularly in a multi telephone conversation. With Mischa Auer (MY MAN GODFREY), Francoise Fabian, Michel Serrault and Raymond Bussieres who steals the film as Lancret's tart tongued butler.