La Femme Et La Pantin (1958)

Set in Spain, a wealthy businessman (Antonio Vilar) becomes obsessed with a haughty beauty (Brigitte Bardot). Despite his money and his pursuit of her, she continues to withhold her favors and taunt him to the point that he begins to degrade himself. Based on the novel by Pierre Louys and directed by Julien Duvivier (PEPE LE MOKO). This is the third film adaptation of the Louys novel following the 1929 silent version, 1935 version (von Sternberg's THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN) and a fourth adaptation would follow in 1977 (Bunuel's THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE). While Bardot was the international sex symbol of the late 50s and 1960s, she also worked with some great directors like Jean Luc Godard, Louis Malle, Rene Clair, Henri Georges Clouzot and here with Julien Duvivier. Alas, it's not one of Duvivier's better films or Bardot's for that matter. There's something queasy about the way some people humiliate themselves in the name of love and Vilar's character is so off putting that I got a perverse pleasure in seeing Bardot drag him through the gutter. The film ends with Vilar beating Bardot to a pulp and, of course, she finally submits to him like a meek dog and they live (un)happily ever after. Sheesh! Still, you can't take your eyes off Bardot in the full flush of her sexuality. With Lila Kedrova, Espanita Cortez and Michel Roux.